CHARAaER  BUILDING 
IN  CHINA 


THE  LIFE  ^TORY  OF 
JULIA  ^ROWN MATEER. 


BV  3427  .M35  M37 
Mateer,  Robert  McCheyne. 
Character-building  in  China 


Character-Building  in  China 


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I  -^ 


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JULIA  BROWN   MATEER 


Character-Building  in 
China 


The  Life-Story  of  Julia  Brown  Matecr 


APR   8  19] 


^^f/ 


/ 


£L^5ICAL  1^ 


By  / 

ROBERT  McCHEYNE  MATEER 


New     York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming     H.     Revell      Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  191 2,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


*•  The  Aged  Mother  "Who  Nurtured  Noble  Sons* 

{Inscription  placed  ffver  Mrs.  Mateer's  door  by 
Tengchow  students    on    her  sixtieth  birthday) 

See  p.  64. 

"  More  are  the  children  of  the  desolate,  than  the 
children  of  the  married  wife,  saith   Jehovah." 

— Isa.  liv.  I. 


Preface 

IT  is  simple  justice  to  record  the  debt  this 
book  owes  to  others.  It  is  indebted  to  Mrs. 
Mateer's  husband,  and  to  Mrs.  Jean  R. 
Lingle,  especially  the  latter,  for  gathering  ma- 
terial, and  for  their  own  contributions,  not  always 
appearing  over  their  names ;  to  Dr.  Hunter 
Corbett  and  to  Mrs.  Fannie  Hays  for  unacknowl- 
edged tributes  ;  to  my  wife  in  the  selection  and 
copying  of  the  contents ;  and  to  my  niece,  Miss 
Mary  B.  Henderson,  for  valuable  suggestions  as 
to  thought  and  literary  finish,  as  well  as  for  read- 
ing the  proof.  My  own  contribution  I  offer  as  a 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  sister-in-law  in 
gratitude  for  all  she  did  in  mothering  and  mould- 
ing the  character  of  my  daughter.  If  the  reader 
derives  from  this  book  a  tithe  of  the  benefit  it 
has  yielded  the  author  in  its  preparation  it  will 
be  richly  worth  while.  It  is  sent  forth  with  the 
hope  that  its  story  of  the  rich  fruitfulness  of  a 
devoted  life  may  prove  an  inspiration  to  many, 
leading  young  women  of  culture,  and  of  the 
choicest  gifts  of  mind  and  heart,  to  give  them- 
selves joyfully  to  educational  service  in  the 
foreign  field. 

Robert  M,  Mateer. 

Loi  Angeles,  California. 

7 


Foreword 

THERE  are  characters  whose  simple  pres- 
ence is  a  stimulus  and  an  elevation. 
When  we  are  with  them  duty  appears 
the  only  possibility,  all  weakness  and  untruth 
seem  to  belong  to  a  different  world,  the  air  is  full 
of  vigor  and  lofty  purpose  ;  life  becomes  a  great 
and  worthy  and  purposeful  thing,  and  we  know 
that  there  is  work  for  us  to  do,  that  we  can  do  it, 
that  we  must  do  it,  and  that  we  will  do  it.  Mrs. 
Mateer's  life,  as  it  is  told  here  by  the  competent 
hand  of  her  brother-in-law,  should  exercise  such 
a  spell  as  this  upon  us.  She  belonged  to  the  old 
heroic  school  which  did  hard  things  without 
making  any  fuss,  which  achieved  the  impossible 
because  it  was  one's  duty  to  achieve  it.  Her 
health  never  recovered  from  the  hardships  of  her 
voyage  to  China,  yet  she  never  complained,  and 
not  for  one  moment  did  she  think  of  laying  down 
her  work.  The  resources  available  for  the  work 
were  scanty.  What  of  it  ?  Frugality  and  sim- 
plicity made  only  the  better  school  of  character. 
She  sang  her  voice  away  teaching  the  Chinese 
to  sing.  She  never  lamented  it.  It  was  a  good 
way  to  use  up  a  trust.  There  is  better  singing 
in  the  churches  all  over  China,  to-day,  in  con- 

9 


lo  FOREWORD 

sequence.  All  that  she  had  and  was  she  put  as 
a  matter  of  course  into  her  work.  Through  such 
lives  God  breathes  a  new  vigor  into  our  lives, 
and  calls  us  to  new  purposes,  and  fresh  conse- 
cration to  duty. 

The  mission  field  is  full  of  opportunities  to-day 
where  a  generation  ago  love  and  faith  had  to 
create  them.  What  Mrs.  Mateer  did  can  now  be 
done  by  others  without  the  difficulties  which  she 
had  to  overcome.  May  this  story  of  her  strong, 
vigorous  life  be  the  summons  to  many  young 
women  in  our  colleges  and  Church  to-day  to  go 
forth  into  the  work  which  is  calling  so  loudly  for 
them  where  she  led  the  way,  showing  what  a 
woman  can  do  who  will  unfalteringly  commit 
her  whole  life  to  God  and  to  His  service. 

The  work  which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  did  is 
the  highest  and  best  type  of  educational  work. 
They  had  three  principles  in  it.  First,  the  edu- 
cational work  must  be  Christian,  powerfully  and 
effectively.  Second,  it  must  be  thorough.  What 
was  worth  doing  at  all  was  worth  doing  well. 
Moreover,  an  education  that  was  not  thorough 
was  not  good  education,  for  thoroughness  is  the 
very  first  essential  of  education,  because  it  is  the 
central  element  of  character.  And  third,  it  must 
be  Chinese ;  that  is,  it  must  fit  the  students  for 
real  life.  They  were  citizens  of  China,  and  in 
China  and  for  China  they  were  to  live.  Their 
education  must  make  them  leaders  of  their  own 


FOREWORD  II 

people.  These  are  fundamental  principles  of  all 
true  education,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  not 
only  used  them  as  the  theory  of  their  work,  but 
they  actually  achieved  the  results  aimed  at. 
Their  students  were  Christians.  They  were  men 
of  solid  attainments  and  thorough  character. 
They  were  leaders  of  their  people.  The  work 
was  a  triumph.  It  required  patience  and  in- 
domitable adherence  to  principle,  but  these  were 
the  very  qualities  its  founders  possessed.  For  a 
generation  they  put  their  rugged  personalities, 
robust  convictions  and  invincible  faith  into  their 
project,  and  the  issue  bore  the  stamp  of  the  sanc- 
tion and  blessing  of  God. 

And  such  a  life  as  Mrs.  Mateer's  has  its  abun- 
dant lessons  also  for  those  whose  work  is  in  the 
home-land.  Increasing  wealth  and  the  ease  and 
possessions  which  wealth  brings ;  much  reading 
about  the  thoughts  of  people  and  especially  the 
reading  of  the  flood  of  books  and  stories  in  which 
we  are  thrilled  by  imagined  deeds  and  by  hero- 
isms that  never  happened,  and  by  the  luxury  of 
such  emotions  acquit  ourselves  of  the  responsi- 
bility for  personal  hardship  and  industry  ;  highly 
spiced  theories  and  exhortations  and  earnest 
purposes  and  resolvings  which  consume  the 
time  and  energy  which  might  go  into  home- 
spun effort  and  unadvertised  toil — these  things 
threaten  to  soften  the  fibre  of  our  character. 
Plain,  unboasting,  straightforward  fidelity  ;  cour- 


12  FOREWORD 

ageous  openness  of  mind  to  large  and  difficult 
duty  ;  unsparing,  concentrated  devotion  of  all  of 
our  powers  to  our  own  assigned  tasks — these 
are  the  qualities  of  character  needed  everywhere. 
And  they  are  seen,  when  presented  to  us  in  such 
a  sketch  as  this,  to  be  not  only  the  most  neces- 
sary, but  also  the  noblest  thing  in  life.  Just  as 
Lowell  has  told  us  in  **  Under  the  Old  Elms  "  : 

**The  longer  on  this  earth  we  live 

And  weigh  the  various  qualities  of  men, 

Seeing  how  most  are  fugitive, 

Or  fitful  gifts,  at  best,  of  now  and  then, 
Wind-wavered  corpse-lights,  daughters  of  the  fen, 

The  more  we  feel  the  high,  stern -featured  beauty 

Of  plain  devotedness  to  duty. 

Steadfast  and  still,  not  fed  with  mortal  praise, 

But  finding  amplest  recompense 

For  life's  ungarlanded  expense 

In  work  done  squarely  and  un wasted  days." 

— Robert  E.  Speer. 


Contents 

I.  Ancestry  and  Early  Years 

II.  Getting  to  the  Field 

III.  Home-Making  and  Language  Study 

IV.  First  Steps  in  College- Making 

V.  Higher  Steps  in  College-Making 

VI.  Difficulties  and  Discouragements 

VII.  Fruit  Gathering 

VIII.  Medical  Work  and  Influence 

IX.  Itinerating 

X.  Feeding  the  Hungry  . 

XI.  Side-Lights 

XII.  Stimulating  the  Home  Church 

XIII.  Sunset  and  Evening  Bells  . 


17 

23 
32 
40 
52 
65 
83 

97 
109 
128 

135 
156 

173 


13 


Illustrations 


Julia  Brown  Mateer 


.    Frontispiece 
Opposite  Page 


Mrs.  Mateer  Shortly  After  Her  Arrival  in  China 

Idols  Found  in  Temple  of  Kwan  Yin 

Typical  Group  of  Ragged  Chinese  Boys,  Such  as  Those 
First  Gathered  Into  the  School 

Graduates  of  Tengchow  College 

Ting  Li  Mei 

Liu  Shu  San   .... 

Sung  Fu  Wei  and  Family 

Mrs.  Li  .... 

Tengchow  Home  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer 

Mrs.  Mateer   On   Her  First  Visit   to  the  Homeland 
After  Fifteen  Years  On  the  Field 

Chefoo   Cemetery ;  Newly  Made  Graves  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Mateer   . 


20 

34 

42 
56 
88 
90 
92 
105 
144 

156 
175 


15 


ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  YEARS 

THE  parents  of  Julia  Brown  were  people 
of  deep  piety.  The  warmth  of  her  kind 
heart  and  the  never-failing  light  of  her 
sunny  face  she  inherited  from  her  saintly  mother, 
who  was  taken  from  her  when  she  was  eight 
years  old.  Her  father,  though  always  kind  and 
affectionate  to  his  children,  was  looked  upon  as  a 
stern  man.  This  was  probably  due  to  his  Puritan 
ideals  which  made  him  rigidly  upright,  always 
regular  in  family  religion,  requiring  the  children 
to  commit  the  Westminster  Catechism,  and  in- 
variably to  attend  church,  four  miles  away, 
whatever  the  weather.  His  God-fearing  resolute- 
ness, fortitude  and  energy  were  very  marked  in 
his  daughter's  character,  and  these  were  com- 
bined with  the  winsomeness  of  her  mother  to 
make  her  remarkable  endowment.  In  person 
Mrs.  Mateer  was  of  medium  height  and  good 
presence,  attracting  attention  everywhere.  Her 
flashing  yet  gentle  dark  eyes  were  not  likely  to 
pass  unnoticed,  and  her  genial  manner  won 
every  heart. 

Her  father,  Robert  Brown,  a  cabinet-maker  in 
western  Pennsylvania,  and  her  mother,  Hannah 
Cunningham,  moved  with  their   family   in   the 

17 


i8      CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

early  thirties  to  a  farm  near  Delaware,  Ohio. 
Those  were  still  pioneer  days,  when  houses  were 
built  of  undressed  logs,  and  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween. Mr.  Brown  was  a  man  of  large  influence 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  for  many  years  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Delaware. 

Into  this  home  Julia  was  born  in  1838,  the 
fourth  child  in  a  family  of  six.  Membership  in  a 
large  family  was  a  most  valuable  training  in 
service  and  self-denial,  and  together  with  the  ex- 
perience in  pioneer  farm  life  did  much  to  prepare 
her  for  the  rough  and  trying  ordeals  of  heathen- 
dom. She  herself  considered  her  education  to 
be  far  from  satisfactory.  The  district  school  of 
her  earlier  years  was  not  of  the  best,  and  the  two 
female  seminaries  she  attended  for  three  years, 
like  others  of  that  time,  afforded  very  limited  op- 
portunities. However,  she  had  a  fine  mind, 
capable  of  the  highest  culture,  and  she  supplied 
the  lack  of  her  early  years  by  a  lifetime  of  study, 
reading,  and  self-improvement. 

While  in  the  seminary  at  Granville,  Ohio,  she 
helped  organize  and  conduct  a  literary  society 
of  which  she  was  the  first  president.  This  sug- 
gests her  early  interest  in  such  work  and  was 
doubtless  a  preparation  for  the  efficient  service 
to  be  rendered  later  in  connection  with  the  liter- 
ary society  of  Tengchow  College.  But  the  most 
significant  experience  of  her  seminary  years  was 
the  marked  change  that  came  into  her  spiritual 


ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  YEARS       19 

life.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  she  was  converted 
and  consecrated  herself  unreservedly  to  any  work 
to  which  the  Master  might  call  her. 

On  leaving  the  seminary  she  first  taught  a 
country  school.  At  that  time  it  was  very  unusual 
for  a  woman  to  assume  entire  control  of  a  school. 
Miss  Brown  showed  her  gift  for  leadership  in 
attempting  it  and  her  genius  for  teaching  in  mak- 
ing it  a  conspicuous  success,  all  of  which  intro- 
duced her  favorably  to  the  school  at  Mt.  Gilead, 
Ohio,  where  she  taught  for  three  years.  A  great 
love  for  children  and  influence  over  them  made 
her  work  in  those  early  years  a  pleasure,  while 
her  sense  of  responsibility  spurred  her  on  to  do 
her  best.  She  says,  **  This  task  is  so  important 
and  so  lasting  in  its  effects  that  the  strongest 
may  well  shrink  from  it;"  but  adds:  "As  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be."  A  glimpse  into 
her  journal  will  indicate  what  she  was  in  the 

schoolroom  :  "  What  shall  I  do  with  B ?     Is 

there  no  road  to  his  heart  ?  Are  both  head  and 
heart  only  receptacles  for  fun  ?  This  morning  I 
talked  as  earnestly  and  seriously  with  him  about 
some  of  his  misdemeanors  as  I  am  capable  of 
talking  to  any  child.  He  listened  with  mock 
gravity  to  all  I  said,  then  with  an  emphatic  nod 
that  banished  almost  all  my  own  seriousness, 
took  his  seat.  What  shall  I  do  with  him?  If 
the  present  only  were  concerned  I  might  laugh 
at  such  things  and  let  them  pass ;  but  there  rises 


20      CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

up  before  me  the  man  and  what  he  is  to  be.     I 
must  help  to  make  him." 

In  i860  Miss  Brown's  brother  John,  having 
gone  into  business  at  Fulton,  Illinois,  induced 
her  and  her  sister  Margaret  to  join  him  there  and 
thus  seek  their  fortune  in  what  then  seemed  the 
remote  West.  It  was  arranged  that  the  two  sis- 
ters should  teach  and  keep  house  for  their 
brother.  After  a  year,  however,  they  were  led  to 
return  to  Ohio  by  the  failure  of  the  brother's 
health,  Julia  devoting  herself  to  him  until  his. 
death.  This  pioneer  venture  of  the  young 
woman  was  in  keeping  with  her  self-reliant  spirit 
and  gave  her  broadened  experience. 

While  Miss  Brown  was  teaching  at  Mt.  Gilead, 
a  series  of  revival  meetings  was  held  there.  The 
record  in  her  journal  shows  her  serious  concern 
for  those  about  her :  **  My  heart  be  still  and  be- 
hold the  Lord's  doings,  for  they  are  marvellous 
in  our  eyes  !  The  voices  which  so  lately  rang 
out  with  laughter  in  the  halls  of  revelry  are 
speaking  for  Jesus.  Five  of  the  young  women 
who  were  leaders  in  gaiety  are  now  leading  the 
way  to  the  cross.  Alas,  that  so  few  should  fol- 
low !  Is  not  the  Holy  Spirit  pleading  with  other 
hearts,  and  will  He  not  prevail  ?  "  In  the  work 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  she  took  an  active 
part,  and  as  a  member  of  the  choir  derived  much 
benefit  from  the  training  and  practice  in  singing. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  she  became  engaged  to 


MRS.    MATEER    SHORTLY    AFTER    HER    ARRIVAL    IN    CHINA 


ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  YEARS       21 

Rev.  Calvin  W.  Mateer,  who  for  two  years  sup- 
plied the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Delaware,  Ohio, 
and  in  December  of  the  same  year  they  were 
married.  Mr.  Mateer  had,  while  in  the  semi- 
nary, offered  himself  to  the  Foreign  Board,  but 
the  demands  of  the  Civil  War  had  so  depleted 
the  treasury  that  it  was  not  possible  to  send 
more  missionaries  ;  accordingly  he  took  charge 
of  the  church  at  Delaware,  hoping  he  might  be 
sent  later  to  the  foreign  field.  At  the  time  of 
his  engagement  to  Miss  Brown,  a  foreign  mis- 
sionary life  was  in  anticipation,  but  a  few  months 
before  their  marriage  the  Board  announced  they 
could  not  be  sent,  advising  Mr.  Mateer  to  accept 
a  permanent  call  and  abandon  the  idea  of  going 
as  a  missionary.  However,  during  their  wed- 
ding tour  a  letter  came  saying  contributions 
had  been  received  to  send  two  men  to  Shantung, 
China,  and  if  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  were  ready 
to  go,  the  Board  would  send  them.  Mrs.  Mateer 
had  thoroughly  entered  into  her  husband's  long 
cherished  desire  to  be  a  missionary,  so  that 
what  had  been  a  common  disappointment  was 
now  turned  to  great  rejoicing.  Mr.  Mateer  says 
in  his  journal :  "  Her  first  exclamation  after  hear- 
ing the  letter,  I  shall  not  soon  forget :  *  Oh,  I 
am  so  glad  ! '  I  shall  remember  that  time,  that 
look,  that  expression." 

Their  union  was  one  of  complete  consecration 
and  rare  oneness  of  spirit,  as  well  as  tender  de- 


22      CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

votion ;  and  naturally  Mrs.  Mateer's  marriage  to 
a  man  of  Dr.  Mateer's  parts  greatly  enlarged 
the  vision,  breadth  and  efficiency  of  her  own 
missionary  life. 

In  April  the  presbytery  met  at  Mt.  Gilead, 
Mrs.  Mateer's  home  for  three  years,  where  she 
had  endeared  herself  to  many  friends.  At  the 
close  of  the  formal  farewell  service  the  congrega- 
tion one  by  one  said  "  good-bye,"  and  after  them 
the  school  children,  who  loved  their  teacher  de- 
votedly. Mrs.  Mateer  was  not  easily  moved  to 
tears,  but  this  parting  with  the  children  greatly 
affected  her. 

The  months  that  remained  before  the  date  for 
sailing  were  occupied  in  short  visits  to  various 
family  friends,  and  in  preparation  for  the  long 
passage  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as 
there  were  no  steamers  at  that  time  across  the 
Pacific.  On  the  sailing  ship  no  washing  could 
be  done,  so  that  for  the  six  months'  voyage  a 
liberal  outfit  was  necessary.  In  those  days  China 
was  a  land  far  remote,  the  comforts  of  life  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  there,  the  journey  tedious,  and 
the  separation  from  friends  very  real.  It  was 
necessary  to  spend  time  and  thought  in  collect- 
ing what  might  be  most  useful  for  the  journey 
and  the  future  home.  The  leave-takings,  too, 
were  of  a  serious  character,  such  as  we  can 
scarcely  understand  in  these  days  of  frequent 
mails,  and  the  daily  publication  of  world-news. 


11 

GETTING  TO  THE  FIELD 

ON  the  3d  of  July,  1863,  while  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  was  raging,  Mrs.  Mateer 
in  company  of  Mr.  Mateer,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Corbett,  and  a  few  other  passengers,  em- 
barked from  New  York  for  China  on  the  sailing 
vessel  SL  Paul.  True  to  her  nature  Mrs.  Mateer 
could  not  long  be  idle,  even  to  take  some  much 
needed  rest.  She  at  once  engaged  to  hear  every 
morning  the  lessons  of  Fanny  B ,  the  daugh- 
ter of  one  of  the  ship's  passengers,  and  mapped 
out  for  herself  a  course  of  study.  She  says  :  "I 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  study  navigation,  but 
have  since  concluded  it  would  be  better  for  me 
to  read  *  Rollin '  and  *  The  Reformation  in  the 
Time  of  Calvin,'  'Alexander's  Moral  Science,' 
and  *  Philosophy  of  the  Plan  of  Salvation.' " 
Later:  "I  have  been  planning  a  division  of  my 
time  which  I  hope  will  enable  me  to  make  better 
use  of  it."  Then  she  indicates  how  every  min- 
ute of  the  day  was  to  be  occupied.  One  feels 
the  eager  girding  up  of  her  spirit  to  prepare  for 
the  life  that  lay  before  her. 

Like  so  many  other  consecrated  missionaries 
of  those   early  days,  she  found   the   long   sea- 

23 


24     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

voyage  a  time  of  opportunity,  not  waiting  until 
she  reached  her  chosen  field  to  begin  missionary 
work.  Special  anxiety  for  the  sailors  led  her  to 
efforts  in  their  behalf,  although  much  personal 
work  among  them  was  difficult,  as  passengers 
were  not  allowed  to  converse  with  the  ship's 
crew.  Her  journal  on  this  ocean  trip  records 
the  breathings  of  much  prayer,  that  she  may 
have  all  needed  patience  for  the  trials  on  the 
ship,  and  more  grace  to  fit  her  for  a  large  and 
fruitful  service.  For  example,  after  praying  for 
the  privilege  of  fitness  for  saving  souls,  she 
writes :  "  God  will  not  forget  any  sacrifice  He 
has  enabled  me  to  make  for  His  sake,  but  I 
would  fain  forget  all  but  His  grace  and  His 
service."  Again :  **  I  have  asked  Him  to  pre- 
pare me  to  fill  the  sphere  to  which  He  has 
called  me,  and  if  suffering  is  the  only  or  the  best 
preparation  for  me,  let  it  come, — only  give  me 
grace  to  submit  in  patience,  and  improve  by 
every  providence."  **  Give  what  Thou  asketh, 
O  Lord,  and  then  ask  what  Thou  wilt."  "  My 
soul  would  turn  back  in  despair,  but  that  I  know 
God  forsakes  no  one  in  the  path  of  duty.  Weak 
as  is  my  faith,  I  believe  God  has  called  me  to 
this  work,  and  that  He  will  permit  me  to  labor 
for  Him." 

It  is  difficult  to  appreciate  the  long  isolation  of 
such  a  sailing  experience.  Instance  the  follow- 
ing from  her  journal :    **  Yesterday  was  an  event- 


GETTING  TO  THE  FIELD  25 

ful  day.  Early  in  the  morning  a  sail  appeared 
upon  the  horizon,  the  first  we  have  seen  for  forty- 
six  days.  It  gained  rapidly  on  us,  overtaking 
us  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  proved  to  be 
the  Surprise  bound  from  New  York  to  Hong- 
kong. She  sailed  two  weeks  later  than  we  and 
brought  news  to  the  14th  of  July,  telling  of  the 
surrender  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. On  hearing  the  war  news,  off  came  hats, 
and  out  came  handkerchiefs,  and  three  rousing 

cheers  rent  the  air.     Captain  R called  his 

crew  on  the  forecastle  deck  and  answered  us 
with  another  round  of  cheers.' ' 

The  captain  of  the  St.  Paul  made  life  miser- 
able for  this  little  band  of  missionaries.  She 
writes :  **  How  can  a  man,  an  American,  in  this 
age  of  the  world,  render  his  whole  ship's  com- 
pany in  every  way  uncomfortable  on  account  of 
the  four  missionaries,  against  whom  he  pretends 
to  have  no  complaint  except  their  calling  ?  May 
God  give  him  a  better  heart."  The  real  reason 
however  for  his  furnishing  the  wretched  food 
upon  which  they  had  to  live  was  a  financial  one, 
and  the  tale  of  his  cruel  inconsiderateness  is 
almost  incredible.  A  month  after  sailing  she 
records :  "  We  came  upon  a  spoiled  cask  of 
water  and  found  to  our  dismay  that  all  the  other 
casks  were  spoiled.  We  were  not  much  relieved 
by  hearing  the  captain  say  that  we  might  be 
thankful  if   we  fared   no   worse.     The  water  is 


26     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

putrid  and  tainted  with  spoiled  rum.  However, 
our  wants  were  relieved  by  a  fine  shower  yester- 
day and  one  to-day."  Not  only  was  the  food 
poor  in  quality  and  poorly  prepared  and  often 
half-spoiled,  but  the  captain  seemed  to  exercise 
a  wicked  ingenuity  in  regard  to  it,  openly  declar- 
ing his  policy  to  make  things  go  as  far  as  pos- 
sible by  making  them  as  unpalatable  as  possible, 
and  swearing  at  the  cook  for  using  them  up  too 
fast. 

At  the  close  of  the  journey  she  says  :  "  Our 
fellow  passengers  have  been  agreeable,  but  it  is 
not  possible  to  tell  all  that  we  have  suffered  on 
account  of  the  captain."  Because  of  his  inhuman 
conduct  the  health  of  Mrs.  Mateer  and  Dr.  Cor- 
bett  was  permanently  impaired ;  and  they  were 
not  the  only  ones,  as  some  of  the  sailors  came 
down  with  the  scurvy.  Upon  the  representation 
of  the  passengers,  the  captain  was  deprived  of 
his  captaincy  for  several  years. 

Mrs.  Mateer  speaks  of  suffering  from  the  heat, 
the  thermometer  in  her  cabin  ranging  from  83°  to 
90°.  The  usual  trials  and  disappointments  in- 
cident to  unfavorable  winds  are  mentioned. 
"We  have  entered  the  torrid  zone  from  the 
south,  and  the  hopes  of  the  speedy  termination 
of  the  voyage  sadly  fall,  for  the  winds  are  light 
and  little  headway  is  made."  There  is  the  count- 
ing of  days  it  will  still  take,  and  the  longing  for  the 
end.     Yet  in  all  these  hardships,  privations  and 


GETTING  TO  THE  FIELD  27 

weariness,  Dr.  Corbett  testifies  that  Mrs.  Mateer's 
**  cheerful,  sunny,  hopeful  disposition  did  much 
to  cheer  the  voyage  and  help  others  to  see  the 
bright  light  in  the  clouds."  At  last  they  landed 
at  Shanghai  December  16,  1864,  after  an  un- 
broken sailing  experience  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  days. 

The  large,  fine,  foreign-built  city  of  Shanghai 
was  even  at  that  early  date  no  insignificant 
place.  Many  of  the  great  stone  structures  along 
the  Bund,  which  make  the  city  so  dignified,  were 
there  then.  But  instead  of  the  jinricksha,  auto- 
mobile, and  trolley,  the  sedan  chair  and  wheel- 
barrow were  in  evidence  on  the  streets. 

The  generous  and  cordial  hospitality  of  the 
Shanghai  missionaries  has  always  been  appreci- 
ated, especially  by  young  missionaries  to  whom 
everything  is  so  strange  ;  it  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, for  those  landing  from  a  large  present-day 
steamer,  already  having  called  at  various  ports,! 
to  appreciate  the  feelings  of  this  little  company, 
stepping  ashore  for  the  first  time  in  the  Orient 
after  their  long,  lonely  and  trying  passage. 
Mrs.  Mateer  records  :  **  The  same  evening  we 
had  the  precious  privilege  of  joining  the  mem- 
bers of  the  mission,  such  as  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Farn- 
ham,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Nevius,  in  a  prayer-meet- 
ing. The  presence  of  so  many  Christians  of  itself 
was  delightful,  but  when  every  voice  blended 
in   the    song   of   praise,  and   when  every  knee 


28     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

bowed,  and  all  hearts  united  in  prayer,  we  felt  it 
to  be  a  foretaste  of  the  better  world."  At  the 
home  of  missionary  friends  in  Shanghai  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mateer  enjoyed  their  Christmas  dinner,  and 
their  first  wedding  anniversary.  In  connection 
with  this  anniversary  came  to  her  as  many 
times  before,  since  the  breaking  up  of  her  home 
in  childhood,  the  longing  for  a  settled  home. 

The  second  day  of  the  New  Year  the  mission- 
ary party,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Corbett,  with  others  journeying  north,  left  on 
the  Swatow,  bound  for  Chefoo.  In  this  small 
vessel  on  the  rough  Yellow  Sea  they  were  all 
seasick,  but  by  the  fourth  evening  all  had  re- 
covered sufficiently  to  sit  up  in  the  cabin,  and 
were  expecting  to  cast  anchor  in  the  Chefoo 
harbor  that  night.  "  But  our  experience  of  sea 
voyages  was  not  so  soon  to  be  over.  About 
eight  o'clock  we  felt  something  strike,  which  we 
at  once  supposed  to  be  a  rock.  The  gentlemen 
ran  on  deck  and  soon  returned,  saying  that  we 
were  fast  in  the  sand  I  The  captain  had  seen  a 
ship  lying  in  a  cove  with  a  part  of  her  sails  set, 
and  supposing  that  she  was  lying  at  anchor, 
thought  he  must  be  in  Chefoo,  so  ran  in  near  her 
intending  to  drop  anchor.  He  was  terribly  dis- 
appointed at  finding  himself  aground.  The  ship 
lay  with  her  broadside  to  the  sea,  the  tide  was 
running  out,  but  must  soon  change.  Although 
there   was   no   prospect   of   a   gale,  the  captain 


GETTING  TO  THE  FIELD  29 

feared  the  wind  would  increase  when  the  tide 
turned,  and  the  ship  would  probably  go  to  pieces. 
Therefore  it  was  decided  all  the  passengers  should 
go  ashore.  He  thought  we  were  but  five  miles 
from  Chefoo,  so  two  of  our  company  started,  in- 
tending to  go  directly  there  for  assistance.  The 
rest  of  us,  following  after,  soon  found  it  would  be 
useless  to  attempt  to  reach  Chefoo  by  the  beach. 
Some  Chinese  tried  to  lead  us  to  a  habitation, 
but  we  were  too  self-confident  to  be  led  by 
them,  so  wandered  on  and  on.  At  last  they  left 
us  to  go  our  way.  We  went  a  long  way  round 
a  hill,  and  found  them  waiting  for  us  not  many 
rods  from  the  place  of  parting.  By  this  time  we 
were  ready  to  accept  guidance,  and  after  cross- 
ing a  narrow  valley  soon  came  to  a  village  where 
the  snow  of  the  streets  was  no  warmer  than  that 
in  the  fields. 

''The  people  were  not  easily  persuaded  to  open 
their  doors  to  us ;  and  no  wonder  I  A  party  of 
fourteen  foreigners  arriving  at  one  of  our  peace- 
ful villages  at  home  before  daybreak  on  a  winter 
morning  would  be  likely  to  excite  some  suspicion. 
At  last  a  man  came  out  with  an  armful  of  dried 
leaves,  and  made  a  light  with  which  he  saw  the 
ladies  of  the  party,  and  Mrs.  Williamson's  little 
girl.  This  touched  his  heart,  and  induced  him 
to  believe  our  story,  so  he  kindly  opened  his 
door.  His  little  house,  dark  and  smoky  as  it 
was,  was  a  welcome  shelter  to  us  after  wander- 


30     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ing  and  waiting  for  five  hours  in  the  snow.  Once 
admitted,  the  people  were  very  kind,  bringing  us 
fuel,  while  rice  millet,  sweet  potatoes  and  tea 
were  all  furnished  in  abundance. 

"  At  daylight  two  of  the  party  started  for  Chefoo, 
under  the  impression  it  was  but  half  a  mile  dis- 
tant. In  reality  it  was  twenty-five  miles.  All 
day  we  awaited  the  gunboat  that  they  were  to 
send  us  at  once.  About  dark  some  foreigners 
who  were  in  the  place  heard  of  us  and  brought 
us  food  and  bedding,  which  made  us  comfortable 
for  the  night.  The  next  morning  the  gunboat 
came  to  our  rescue.  In  the  afternoon  they  took 
us  aboard,  and  during  the  night  got  the  Swatow 
off  the  sand,  landing  us  the  next  morning  safely 
in  Chefoo.  The  two  who  went  on  ahead,  and 
Calvin,  were  the  chief  sufferers.  A  kind  provi- 
dence watched  over  us  and  fitted  the  back  to  the 
burden." 

After  a  few  days  in  Chefoo,  the  Mateers  and 
Corbetts  started  out  on  the  last  stage  of  the 
journey,  which  was  the  most  novel,  if  not  the 
most  dangerous.  They  had  four  shansi  and 
three  pack-mules.  The  shansi  or  mule-litter  is 
unspeakable.  Two  long  poles  fastened  to 
wooden  saddle  frames  are  placed  on  the  backs  of 
mules,  one  in  front  and  one  behind.  Between 
the  poles,  in  the  middle  of  the  length,  is  strung  a 
network  of  ropes,  and  attached  above  is  a  poke- 
bonnet-shaped  cover,  made  of  matting.     Food- 


GETTING  TO  THE  FIELD  31 

box,  clothes,  books  and  bedding  are  packed  in- 
side in  various  ways,  according  to  the  preference 
of  the  individual.  Comfort  is  studied  in  the  ar- 
rangement, but  little  is  realized,  though  it  is  the 
missionary's  Pullman  car  of  North  China.  With 
mules  that  seldom  travel  in  step,  the  distinct 
pepper-box,  sieve-and-nutmeg-grater  motions 
are  not  conducive  to  a  restful  ride,  shaking  up 
as  they  do  the  bones,  the  nerves  and  the  temper, 
leaving  one  at  the  close  of  a  journey  generally 
demoralized. 

Upon  the  trip  of  fifty-four  miles,  from  Chefoo 
to  Tengchow,  this  party  of  four  were  detained  for 
two  nights,  sleeping  on  hard  brick  beds  in  the 
cold,  barren  Chinese  inns,  constantly  disturbed 
by  the  stamping,  snorting  and  munching  of  the 
mules,  along  with  swearing  of  muleteers,  as  they 
fed  them  seemingly  all  night.  The  weather  was 
cold,  the  snow  was  falling,  and  for  company  and 
guidance  they  had  only  one  boy  who  knew  not  a 
word  of  English.  On  January  15,  1864,  they 
ended  this  dismal  journey.  Arriving  at  Teng- 
chow, they  were  received  into  the  home  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Mills. 


Ill 

HOME-MAKING  AND  LANGUAGE  STUDY 

SHANTUNG,  a  camel-shaped  promontory 
lying  well  to  the  north  upon  the  coast  of 
China,  is  one  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of 
China  proper,  somewhat  resembling  the  Central 
Atlantic  States  in  climate.  Situated  upon  the 
seacoast  at  the  north  base  of  the  camel's  neck 
lies  Tengchow,  a  walled  city  variously  estimated 
from  30,000  to  70,000  inhabitants.  It  is  fifty-five 
miles  northwest  from  Chefoo,  which,  though  a 
small  town  in  earlier  years,  was  the  only  port  of 
entrance  to  the  province  till  about  the  Boxer  time, 
when  the  Germans  opened  T'singtau  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  peninsula,  and  built  a  rail- 
road through  to  Chinanfu,  the  capital. 

In  1862,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Nevius,  working  in  Cen- 
tral China,  had  been  appointed  to  open  Tengchow, 
but  had  been  there  only  about  six  months.  At 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Mateers  they  were 
at  Hangchow,  whence  they  took  their  furlough. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mills  also  had  been  transferred  from 
Shanghai  to  Tengchow  and  were  already  in  resi- 
dence. The  Hartwell  and  Crawford  families,  of 
the  Southern  Baptist  Church,  were  just  estab- 
lished, and  there  have  been  Baptist  families  at 

32 


HOME-MAKING  33 

Tengchow  ever  since.  The  work  of  the  Teng- 
chow  Mission  was  all,  therefore,  at  its  beginning. 

The  hostility  of  the  people  made  it  difficult  to 
secure  any  property  for  homes  and  mission  pur- 
poses. It  chanced  that  a  priest  in  charge  of  the 
Goddess  of  Mercy  Temple,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  city,  was  much  aggrieved  and  embarrassed 
because  the  people  did  not  give  the  money  he 
needed  to  care  for  the  temple  and  the  gods ;  so 
he  took  the  responsibility  of  renting  it  to  the 
Presbyterian  Mission.  The  temple,  a  plastered 
building,  consisting  of  one  large  room  with  altar 
and  idols  at  one  end,  was  wholly  unadapted  to 
residence,  but  had  been  made  partially  habitable 
by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Nevius ;  having  packed  and 
stored  their  goods,  the  Mateers  took  possession. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corbett,  utterly  unable  to  secure 
any  place  to  live,  were  obliged  to  return  to 
Chefoo,  and  made  that  their  home. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  Chinese  thought  some 
great  calamity  would  befall  the  missionaries  for 
thus  daring  to  live  in  the  temple  of  Kwan  Yin, 
and  to  build  a  wall  across  one  end  in  front  of  the 
gods,  as  was  soon  done ;  all  the  more  because 
Kwan  Yin  was  a  popular  god,  most  merciful  of 
all  gods.  The  tale  runs  that  he  was  originally  a 
man  who  lived  twenty-eight  hundred  years  ago. 
Eminent  for  great  virtue  and  great  talents,  after 
death  he  became  one  of  the  gods.  Wonderful 
stories  are  told  illustrating  how  he  saved  from 


34     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

various  kinds  of  misfortune  and  distress.  For 
example :  "In  the  Tang  dynasty  many  devils 
and  hobgoblins  broke  loose,  tormenting  the  peo- 
ple and  creating  confusion  in  every  direction. 
When  a  man  went  from  home,  on  his  return  he 
would  find  his  house  full  of  hobgoblins,  all  look- 
ing so  much  like  his  wife  he  could  not  distinguish 
them  from  her.  When  either  husband  or  wife 
went  from  home  they  were  obliged  to  use  checks, 
so  that  upon  returning  they  might  know  each 
other  by  matching  them.  Kwan  Yin,  seeing  the 
country  was  about  to  be  utterly  destroyed,  put 
forth  his  power  and  drove  away  these  devils  and 
hobgoblins."  Many  believe  these  stories,  so  that 
in  every  misfortune  a  vow  or  prayer  is  made  to 
Kwan  Yin.  Women  are  much  the  most  untiring 
in  his  worship,  especially  in  praying  to  him  for 
children,  so  it  was  considered  more  in  keeping 
with  propriety  that  he  should  be  changed  into  a 
goddess ;  therefore,  Kwan  Yin  changed  himself 
into  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  and  is  always  so  pic- 
tured. For  some  time  the  idols  were  allowed  to 
remain  behind  the  wall  that  had  been  built  before 
them,  but  by  and  by  they  were  pulled  down,  some 
were  buried,  some  stored  away  for  safe  keeping 
and  later  destroyed. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  set  about  at  once  adapt- 
ing the  temple  to  their  needs,  and  Mr.  Mateer 
found  his  practical  and  mechanical  gifts  very  serv- 
iceable.    In  the  preparation  of  a  study,  an  out- 


.<-                                      ''■"'^-^ 

-—^^^^1?'^  '/««p^^8B 

B^^^i^Sj^ 

ri 

ilk,  i^^                ^    ^^ 

"^    ?^' 

.3:)-^ 

^aX  ^ 

^S 

^^^^^ 

^^%f*v>*^  i '  -H^iKKKi 

"•iNiii 

_.3*  i^t'". " 

^^;f%» 

"^^^^ '"^ 

ssr^                   #                 * 

HOME-MAKING  35 

side  chimney  had  to  be  built.  As  the  Chinese  do 
not  have  chimneys,  and  were  unused  to  building 
anything  secure  enough  for  more  than  one  story, 
the  mason  was  without  experience.  But  he  worked 
rapidly,  for  a  Chinese,  in  order  to  retain  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  foreigner.  When  about  two-thirds 
up,  down  fell  the  chimney.  Mr.  Mateer  found  he 
had  to  train  the  mason,  as  he  later  trained  the 
men  who  built  his  permanent  home.  Out  of  the 
sheet-iron  that  enclosed  their  household  goods, 
he  contrived  a  stove  in  which  he  used  three  hun- 
dred rivets,  and  he  added  in  many  other  ways  to 
their  comforts  and  conveniences. 

After  three  years  a  two-story  brick  residence 
was  built  on  the  lot  closely  adjoining  the  tem- 
ple, the  latter  being  used  for  school  purposes. 
Among  the  Chinese  a  two-story  house  was  un- 
heard of,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  it  properly 
built  was  great.  It  faced  a  walled  garden,  and 
had  pleasant  homelike  verandas  on  both  stories 
from  which  vines  and  a  fresh  bit  of  grass  could 
be  enjoyed  in  the  midst  of  a  city  destitute  of  such 
refreshing  glimpses.  The  nearness  of  the  school 
was  necessary,  and  was  an  advantage  in  all  re- 
spects but  one.  According  to  the  Chinese  cus- 
tom the  students  study  the  classics  aloud  and  in 
a  high  key.  This  concert  begins,  to  the  dismay 
of  those  bent  on  obtaining  much-needed  rest, 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  Mateer  home  was  always  open  to  their 


36     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

friends.  Many  new  missionaries  have  spent  the 
first  months,  or  years,  under  this  hospitable  roof, 
all  of  whom  found  in  Mrs.  Mateer  a  mother,  a 
counsellor  and  a  guide.  Various  motherless  mis- 
sionary children  were  cared  for  during  longer  or 
shorter  periods.  One  of  these  writes  :  "  Memo- 
ries of  Mrs.  Mateer — *  Auntie  'Teer ' — as  I  called 
her  from  babyhood,  run  through  my  earliest  rec- 
ollections. These  silken  threads  wove  bright 
and  joyous  patterns  in  the  web  of  life  in  child- 
hood, and  afterwards  turned  into  pure  gold,  as 
the  young,  struggling  missionary  was  strength- 
ened, cheered  and  inspired  by  the  counsel  and 
life  of  this  noble  daughter  of  the  heavenly  King. 
**  A  few  weeks  after  my  first  great  sorrow,  father 
took  his  three  motherless  children  to  *  Auntie 
'Teer,'  and  while  he  went  about  the  great  work 
imperatively  calling  him  into  the  interior,  she 
loved  and  mothered  us  with  all  the  strength  and 
sweetness  of  her  great  heart.  Her  days  were  al- 
ready crowded  to  overflowing  with  her  work  for 
the  Chinese,  but  we  children  never  for  a  moment 
suspected  that  we  were  an  added  burden.  I  re- 
member especially  the  evening  hours,  when  we 
gathered  around  her  knee  and  listened  to  her 
stories  or  told  her  all  that  was  in  our  hearts. 

"  Only  once  did  I  go  to  her  with  a  tale  of  woe 
that  did  not  elicit  the  expected  sympathy.  We 
children  slept  in  a  large  room  safely  guarded  by 
our   faithful    old    Chinese   nurse.     One   night  I 


HOME-MAKING  37 

awakened  from  a  nightmare,  oppressed  with 
fear,  and  my  nurse  asked  me  what  was  the 
matter.  She  at  once  told  me  the  devil  him- 
self had  been  at  my  pillow  and  there  was  but 
one  thing  he  was  afraid  of ;  if  I  would  take  three 
deep  long  breaths  at  his  next  appearance  and 
swallow  some  of  his  attributes,  he  would  never 
dare  to  trouble  me  again.  This  may  strike  one 
as  a  rather  heroic  remedy,  but  I  was  a  brave 
child  and  followed  her  advice  to  the  letter,  just 
as  I  was  dropping  off  to  sleep  again. 

"  Thanks  to  this  rash  act  I  slept  sweetly  the 
remainder  of  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  I 
gravely  recounted  my  thrilling  experiences  to 
'  Auntie  'Teer.'  Oh  !  how  she  laughed  !  How 
her  black  eyes  twinkled !  How  merrily  her 
dimples  came  and  went,  as  she  vainly  tried  to 
bring  herself  into  an  attitude  befitting  one  who 
deals  with  a  seven-year-old  child,  who  believes 
she  has  just  swallowed  three  huge  gulps  of  the 
devil !  Her  laughter  had  more  effect  upon  my 
poor  little  mortified  soul  than  the  serious  sweet 
talk  which  soon  followed  ;  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing two  years,  when  I  was  much  thrown  with 
well-meaning  but  superstitious  Chinese  servants, 
I  never  again  believed  their  strange  stories,  but 
combated  their  foolishness  valiantly,  in  the  mem- 
ory of  that  merry  laughter." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  began  the  day  after  their 
arrival  the  study  of  the  language,  an  undertak- 


38     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ing  attended  by  much  greater  difficulties  fifty 
years  ago  than  at  present.  At  best  it  means  hard, 
unremitting  work  for  two  years,  and  to  excel  one 
must  keep  on  improving  throughout  life.  Mrs. 
Mateer  persevered  until  she  was  able  to  speak 
with  great  ease  and  fluency.  Every  one  could 
understand  her,  and  she  had  the  power  of  com- 
pelling all  to  pay  attention  ;  yet  she  did  not  es- 
cape the  many  ridiculous  blunders  every  one 
makes  before  he  is  out  of  the  woods.  It  is  re- 
lated that  a  missionary  transferred  from  Central 
China  and  hence  confused  in  his  pronunciation 
and  accent,  when  intending  to  announce  a 
monthly  concert,  said  :  **  There  will  be  a  rooster 
in  this  church  Wednesday  evening.  I  hope  you 
will  all  come."  The  story  remembered  about 
Mrs.  Mateer  is  this  :  The  word  for  "  lion  "  and 
the  word  for  "louse"  have  different  inflections, 
but  otherwise  sound  the  same.  She  was  one  day 
telling  her  boys  of  David's  killing  a  lion,  impress- 
ing upon  them  what  a  great  feat  he  accomplished, 
and  that  it  was  by  God's  assistance  ;  the  boys 
with  a  surprised  air  protested  they  had  killed 
many  such. 

Both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  came  to  have  a  wide 
reputation  as  superior  in  the  use  of  the  Mandarin^ 
spoken  and  written.  They  were  so  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  the  mastery  of  the  lan- 
guage that  during  twenty-five  years  they  spent  a 
great  deal  of  time  in  the  preparation  of  a  manual 


HOME-MAKING  39 

of  over  two  hundred  lessons  in  the  Mandarin,  the 
language  of  three-fourths  of  the  Chinese  people. 
Mrs.  Mateer  was  always  her  husband's  most 
trusted  and  faithful  critic  in  his  literary  work. 
These  Mandarin  lessons  owe  much  of  their  liter- 
ary form  to  her  excellent  taste.  She  collected 
sentences,  selected  English  words,  amended,  crit- 
icized, and  read  proof,  all  of  which  occupied 
much  time.  Her  husband  says  that  she  would 
not  allow  him  to  give  her  proper  credit  for  her 
work.  Indeed  if  genius  means  capacity  for  tak- 
ing infinite  pains,  they  are  both  deserving  of 
fame.  This  manual  is  the  standard  in  China. 
But  few  master  all  the  lessons,  and  none  can 
know  the  amount  of  work  expended  in  their 
preparation. 


IV 

FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING 

THE  first  autumn  in  China,  after  much 
prayerful  consideration,  and  after  six 
months'  study  of  the  language,  a  boys' 
school  was  opened  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer. 
Both  had  come  to  China  with  this  in  mind,  be- 
lieving it  to  be  an  effective  way  to  build  up  a 
missionary  church,  and  having  already  had  ex- 
perience in  teaching.  That  the  school  developed 
later  into  a  college  was  no  accident ;  from  the 
beginning  this  was  their  cherished  ambition. 

They  were  not  at  all  in  accord  with  the  idea  of 
many  earlier  missionaries  that  their  only  work 
should  be  to  preach  ;  and  yet  they  were  farthest 
removed  from  the  thought  of  pushing  education 
for  its  own  sake,  or  of  regarding  it  as  other  than 
the  handmaid  of  the  church  in  her  work  of  soul- 
saving  and  character-building.  Mrs.  Mateer  says : 
'*  I  used  as  a  child  to  drop  corn,  and  think  I  was 
doing  an  important  work.  The  men  who  came 
after,  covering  it  with  their  hoes,  did  a  harder 
work  ;  but  the  hardest  of  all,  and  certainly  not 
the  least  important,  was  the  hoeing  out  of  weeds, 
hilling  up  the  corn,  and  cutting  off  the  suckers 
while  the  crop  was  growing.     More  are  ready  to 

40 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    41 

preach  the  Gospel  than  are  willing  to  settle  down 
to  the  persistent,  steady,  hard  pull  of  educational 
work.'*  ^  These  were  the  considerations  that  con- 
trolled throughout  the  long  years  of  faithful,  un- 
ostentatious school  work.  They  reveal  to  us  Mrs. 
Mateer's  vision  and  consecration.  It  is  easy  to 
make  a  prominent  showing  and  interest  the  home 
church  by  the  baptizing  of  large  numbers, 
whereas  the  humdrum  of  school  work  and  shep- 
herding care  affords  little  to  write  about,  and  re- 
quires infinite  patience,  devotion,  and  faith. 

The  first  school  was  composed  of  six  boarders, 
to  which  number  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  limited 
themselves  until  they  could  receive  from  the 
Board  formal  sanction.  Besides  these  they  had 
two  day  pupils.  Only  one  was  older  than  eleven 
years,  and  only  one  had  before  attended  school. 
It  was  necessary  at  that  time,  in  order  to  secure 
the  attendance  of  these  boys,  to  make  a  formal 
written  indenture,  such  as  the  following : 

**  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  great  Amer- 
ican country  has  appointed  the  Rev.  C.  W. 
Mateer  to  open  a  free  school  in  the  North  Kwan 
Yin  Temple,  in  Tengchow-Fu.  He  promises  to 
provide  the  pupil's  food,  clothing,  and  all  the 
schoolroom  necessaries,  and  if  the  pupil  is  sick 

1  In  recent  years  it  has  been  found  easier  to  get  men  for  the  kind 
of  educational  work  now  carried  on  in  China  than  for  direct  evangel- 
istic work. 


42     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

will  call  a  physician.  He  also  promises  not  to 
take  the  pupil  away  from  Tengchow-Fu.  Li 
Fang  Mao,  of  his  own  free  will,  brings  his  sec- 
ond son,  age  nine,  to  this  school  for  six  years. 
If  the  boy  during  this  time  runs  away,  his  father 
promises  to  find  him  and  restore  him  to  the 
school.  If  during  this  time  his  father  takes  him 
away,  he  is  to  pay  all  of  his  expenses  for  what- 
ever time  he  has  been  in  school.  If  Mr.  Mateer 
finds  that  the  boy  cannot  and  will  not  learn,  he 
may  at  any  time  send  him  home.  Both  parties 
agree  to  this  and  cannot  break  the  covenant. 

**  (Signed)     Witness 

'*  Scribe— Chang  Kan  Chin, 
"Father— Li  Fang  Mao  " 

Indentures  are  now  unnecessary,  and  long  since 
out  of  date.  At  first,  in  order  to  get  boys  to 
attend  school,  everything  was  supplied;  now 
they  are  eager  to  come,  never  run  away,  and 
furnish  not  only  all  clothing  and  books,  but  also  a 
large  part  of  their  board,  the  amount  depending 
on  their  financial  ability.  Under  the  influence 
of  the  prevailing  fear  of  having  a  mercenary 
church-membership,  a  rule  was  made  that  the 
sons  of  Christians  would  not  be  received  as 
boarders ;  but  this  was  long  ago  changed,  and 
instead  of  being  discriminated  against,  the  sons 
of  Christians  have  become  the  ones  most  de- 
sired in  the  schools. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  word 
came  from  the  Board  approving  the  school,  rec- 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING     43 

otnmending  that  the  number  be  increased  to 
twelve,  which  was  the  number  during  that  year. 
In  the  spring  of  that  same  year,  1865,  the  first 
boy  was  baptized,  a  happy  event  for  Mrs.  Mateer. 
In  the  following  year,  to  her  great  joy,  her  older 
sister.  Miss  Margaret  Brown,  came  out  to  be 
associated  with  her,  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
boys'  school  for  a  few  years,  and  later  opening 
a  girls'  school  of  her  own. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  school  it  was 
necessary  for  Mr.  Mateer  to  be  absent  for  long 
periods  upon  preaching  and  itinerating  tours  in 
the  country,  leaving  much  of  the  responsibility 
to  Mrs.  Mateer.  Fully  two-thirds  of  the  prac- 
tical work  devolved  upon  her.  She  gave  her 
time  night  and  day  to  every  detail.  She  kept 
the  accounts,  looked  after  the  food,  the  clothing, 
the  health  of  the  boys,  and  a  hundred  miscella- 
neous matters.  **  Just  think,"  she  writes,  "  of 
having  to  watch  thirty  boys  every  day,  to  see  if 
their  rooms  are  swept,  their  beds  made,  their 
heads  combed,  faces  washed,  looking  over  all 
their  clothes  once  a  week  to  see  if  they  have  lost 
anything  or  have  failed  to  wash,  or  mend,  or, 
worse  still,  change  them ;  most  especially  to 
poultice  their  scrofulous  sores ; — yet,  when  the 
boys  are  good  and  everything  goes  smoothly  (as 
it  does  for  a  little  while  now  and  then),  I  think 
what  woman  so  happy  as  I." 

To  the  end  she  was  the  confidante  and  adviser 


44     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

of  all  in  their  troubles,  trials  and  plans,  in  their 
marriage  alliances  and  in  their  spiritual  exer- 
cises. The  thoughtful  care  she  gave  endeared 
her  to  the  hearts,  not  only  of  those  who  were  in 
the  school,  but  to  their  parents  as  well.  Before 
the  close  of  the  first  week  of  each  new  year  of 
school,  she  knew  accurately  the  full  name  of 
every  pupil.  In  China  there  is  a  complicated 
nomenclature  to  represent  the  various  family 
relationships.  Mrs.  Mateer  was  one  of  the  few 
missionaries  who  could  correctly  use  it. 

It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  decide  how  to 
accommodate  Western  methods  of  education  to 
the  Oriental  habit  of  mind,  accustomed  to  regard 
memorization  and  learning-by-rote  as  all-suffi- 
cient. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  included  in  their 
curriculum  of  studies  the  Chinese  trimetrical 
classics  (which  were  explained  as  soon  as  com- 
mitted), geography,  mental  and  written  arith- 
metic, natural  philosophy,  "  Peep  of  Day," 
**  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  ''  Evidences  of  Christian- 
ity," and  the  "  Church  Catechism  "  ;  later  were 
added  algebra,  geometry,  astronomy,  chem- 
istry, etc.  They  early  began,  also,  giving  their 
students  practice  in  writing  compositions,  a  new 
feature  of  school  life  to  them.  As  early  as  the 
summer  of  1867,  drill  in  debate  was  established 
as  one  of  the  regular  features  of  the  school. 
Such  practical  and  helpful  subjects  as  the  follow- 
ing were  debated : 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING     45 

"  Which  is  more  difficult,  to  rule  by  reason  or 
by  force  ?  " 

"  Are  the  rich  or  the  poor  more  apt  to  fall  into 
sin  ?  " 

"  Which  is  the  better  for  this  life,  Christianity 
or  Confucianism  ?  " 

"Which  is  better,  to  stay  at  home,  or  go 
abroad  ?  " 

*'  In  getting  an  education,  which  is  more  im- 
portant, talent  or  application  ?  " 

"Which  are  superior  in  social  customs  and 
philanthropy,  the  Chinese  or  foreigners  ?  " 

"  Is  it  beneficial  to  be  reviled  ?  " 

"Which  is  better,  to  worship  false  gods,  or 
none  at  all  ?  " 

Besides  these  debates  there  were  given  every 
Saturday  afternoon  orations,  essays  and  declama- 
tions. The  boys  made  great  strides  in  these, 
and  became  so  interested  that  a  few  of  them  pre- 
pared original  material  for  declamations.  Mrs. 
Mateer  remarks :  "  The  immense  advantage  of 
this  literary  society  has  been  apparent  from  the 
beginning.  The  Chinese  lack  any  such  training. 
Public  speaking  is  an  unknown  art.  In  our 
school  the  tongue  is  loosed,  the  thoughts  are 
trained  to  come  quickly,  and  to  be  expressed  ac- 
curately. The  students  learn  to  preside  at  and 
conduct  meetings  with  parliamentary  precision, 
a  great  help  in  church  meetings,  as  well  as  in 
business.     In  the  Shantung  Federation  meeting 


46     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

(one  may  say  in  passing)  the  splendid  results  of 
this  training  have  challenged  admiration,  and 
been  a  matter  of  common  remark. 

Indeed,  it  may  be  said  of  Mrs.  Mateer  that  she 
was  an  accomplished  teacher,  especially  of  young 
boys.  Religious  books,  such  as  '*  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress," Old  and  New  Testaments,  etc.,  she  taught 
with  skill,  making  them  tell  upon  the  religious 
character  of  her  pupils.  Besides  these  subjects 
she  taught  geography,  arithmetic,  history,  music, 
etc.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  earnestly  op- 
posed much  advanced  teaching  of  the  Bible  di- 
rectly by  the  various  native  teachers.  They 
thought  its  sacredness  and  supreme  importance 
in  the  eyes  of  the  students  were  sure  to  be  sacri- 
ficed by  a  too  familiar  and  perfunctory  handling, 
or  by  insufficient  preparation  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher  to  give  such  teaching  due  weight  and 
value.  Conditions  are  very  different  from  those 
obtaining  in  the  American  college,  which  can 
command  expert  enthusiasts  and  men  of  high 
training  for  the  special  teaching  of  the  Bible. 
Their  plan  was  to  teach  in  the  class  room  Bible 
history,  along  with  such  books  as  "  Evidences  of 
Christianity,"  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "Philosophy 
of  the  Plan  of  Salvation,"  etc.,  and  to  make  the 
Sabbath  the  great  day  for  Bible  preaching  and 
teaching. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  moved  into  their 
new  house,  the  main  building  of  the  temple  was 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    47 

rearranged  for  the  school,  which  had  grown  to 
quite  a  respectable  size.  In  '69  further  enlarge- 
ment was  made  to  accommodate  thirty  boarders, 
and  the  school  divided  into  higher  and  primary- 
departments.  The  partitions  were  taken  out  of 
the  main  building,  making  a  room  thirty  by 
twenty- one  feet.  This  was  used  for  the  high 
school  during  the  week,  and  until  the  church 
was  built,  for  services  on  Sunday,  as  it  was  the 
largest  room  in  possession  of  the  mission.  The 
north  room  in  the  west  wing  was  used  for  the 
primary  school.  Hereafter  these  two  depart- 
ments were  entirely  independent,  each  having  its 
own  kitchen,  cook,  and  monthly  allowances. 

**  1870  was  a  year  of  much  encouragement. 
New  boys  were  added,  some  from  regions  hitherto 
unrepresented.  The  clothes  of  the  new  students 
were  provided  by  their  parents,  quite  an  advance 
upon  the  former  custom  that  the  school  provide 
everything.  Mr.  Li,  the  new  teacher,  was  more 
satisfactory  than  previous  ones.  He  was  enter- 
prising and  efficient,  and  inspired  the  boys  with 
more  enthusiasm  in  their  studies  than  they  had 
ever  known.  He  was  quick  to  discern  character, 
and  judiciously  awarded  praise  or  gave  censure. 
He  had  been  hopefully  converted  during  the 
year.  The  Christian  boys  entered  into  a  concert 
of  prayer  which  was  continued  throughout  the 
year.  Three  older  bo3^s  were  baptized  and  sev- 
eral others  were  seeking  the  Saviour.     The  moral 


48     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

sentiment  of  the  school  was  on  a  hig-her  plane. 
This  was  especially  noticeable  in  the  matter  of 
lying.  There  was  also  less  quarrelling  and 
greater  possibility  of  making  peace  after  a  quar- 
rel. 

**  During  this  year  the  boys  devised  a  plan  to 
break  up  among  themselves  the  habit  of  using 
bad  language.  All  with  the  exception  of  the 
smaller  ones  entered  into  an  agreement  that  any 
boy  who  was  heard  to  revile  should  be  reported 
to  Mr.  Li,  who  was  to  fine  him  a  certain  sum  of 
*  cash/  or  ferrule  him  so  many  strokes.  Mr.  Li 
was  to  collect  the  fines  and  expend  the  money 
so  as  to  benefit  all.  And  so,  whereas  at  first 
there  was  no  Christian  sentiment  to  be  counted 
upon  among  boys  gathered  from  out  their 
heathen  surroundings,  this  humble  beginning 
was  of  great  significance.  From  year  to  year  the 
Christian  character  of  the  school  steadily  in- 
creased, until  in  1894  in  the  collegiate  department 
of  more  than  sixty  there  was  but  one  who  was 
not  a  professing  Christian." 

By  death  and  removal  Tengchow  had  lost  in 
the  years  of  '73  and  '74,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Capp 
(formerly  Miss  Brown,  Mrs.  Mateer's  sister),  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Crossette,  and  Mrs.  Mills,  leaving  Mrs. 
Mateer  the  only  woman  in  the  station.  The 
burden  of  sorrow  and  extra  work  thus  placed 
upon  her  laid  her  aside  for  a  time.  Her  work  in 
the  school,  as  far  as  teaching  was  concerned,  was 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    49 

temporarily  suspended.  However,  she  did  not 
idly  rest,  for  she  was  always  about  her  Master's 
business,  whether  in  health  or  lying  on  the  couch 
as  she  often  had  to  do.  She  says  :  "  Though  I 
can  hear  no  classes,  I  talk  much  with  the  boys, 
and  I  sometimes  think  that  this  weakness  has 
drawn  them  more  into  sympathy  with  me  and 
increased  my  influence  over  them.  I  love  to 
work, — indeed  I  sometimes  think  I  put  work  into 
too  high  a  place  ;  but  if  my  being  laid  aside  will 
hasten  the  great  ends  sought,  I  ought  to  be  glad." 
And  this  was  written  after  more  than  a  year  of 
great  pain  in  the  head. 

Again :  **  I  have  always  made  it  a  point  to 
spend  a  great  deal  of  time  with  the  boys  in  their 
rooms,  sometimes  telling  them  stories,  or  what  I 
like  better  than  anything  else,  talking  with  them, 
— drawing  them  out  to  ask  questions,  and  ex- 
press their  own  opinions  on  all  subjects.  This 
gives  me  so  many  opportunities  of  throwing  in 
a  word  of  warning  or  of  encouragement,  and 
with  much  better  effect  than  in  a  set  lecture. 
Once  I  remember  telling  them  about  the  hydra- 
headed  monster  of  the  old  fable,  and  that  there 
was  one  in  school,  setting  them  to  guessing  it 
out,  and  not  allowing  the  older  boys  to  say  any- 
thing. It  furnished  employment  for  a  long  time 
to  pick  out  its  heads  and  cut  them  off.  The  re- 
sult was  at  least  the  temporary  cure  of  some  bad 
habits."     In  such  ways  she  helped  the  boys  to 


so     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

resist  and  overcome  meanness,  duplicity,  and 
other  faults,  and  above  all  to  accept  Jesus  as  their 
personal  Saviour  and  mould  their  lives  by  His 
teaching  and  example. 

At  the  close  of  1876  a  regular  school  com- 
mencement was  observed.  Of  this  Mrs.  Mateer 
gives  a  description  :  *'  One  evening  was  occupied 
with  a  literary  contest.  There  were  two  essays 
in  Mandarin,  and  two  in  classical  style,  two  ora- 
tions, and  a  debate,  with  judges  who  decided  the 
respective  merits  of  each  exercise.  On  com- 
mencement evening,  three  young  men  were  grad- 
uated, each  one  speaking, — one  upon,  *  What  is 
it  to  Fulfill  One's  Whole  Duty  as  a  Man;' 
another,  *  Progress,  the  Law  of  True  Living ; ' 
and  another, '  The  Valedictory.'  A  Baptist  friend 
said  of  one  oration  that  it  would  have  done  its 
author  credit  at  any  commencement  in  America. 
These  accomplished  and  earnest  young  men 
have  learned  no  English^  and  have  not  been  lifted 
above  their  natural  position  or  in  any  way  de- 
nationalized. Our  aim  has  been  to  enlighten 
and  train  their  minds,  to  make  them  strong, 
manly,  self-reliant  Christian  Chinese,  fit  for  the 
Master's  use." 

Thus  the  little  school  of  six  had  gradually  in- 
creased until  after  twelve  years  it  numbered 
thirty-six  and  offered  a  greatly  enlarged  cur- 
riculum of  studies.  Through  it  all  there  had  been 
unsparing  toil,  and  much  earnest  prayer  on  the 


FIRST  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING     51 

part  of  this  devoted  couple.  Mrs.  Mateer  says  : 
**  We  have  had  great  comfort  in  this  school  these 
last  years.  God  has  blessed  our  unworthy  labors 
far  beyond  my  weak  faith.  Oh,  if  the  twenty-one 
professed  Christian  boys  hold  out  faithful  until 
death,  and  really  consecrate  their  talents  to  the 
Saviour,  what  a  power  they  may  be  in  the 
Church  1  My  heart  aches  with  the  prayer  for 
them  that  as  they  take  their  places  among  the 
working  forces  of  the  world,  the  Lord  will  give 
them  a  spirit  of  consecration  and  use  each  one  to 
the  full  measure  of  his  educated  abilities." 

Thinking  at  this  commencement  time  of  those 
missionaries  who  had  died  at  Tengchow,  she 
says :  "  I  believe  blessings  come  upon  us  and  our 
work  here  in  answer  to  prayers  from  earthly 
closets  and  altars  and  sanctuaries,  and  also  in 
answer  to  prayers  from  the  nearer  presence  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  It  is  to  me  a  comforting  thought 
that  we  have  not  lost  the  prayers  of  the  loved 
ones  gone  before." 


V 

HIGHER   STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING 

"  t  ■  ^HE  boys  have  finally  become  convinced 
I  that  our  system  of  education  is  of  use. 
-■-  They  see  its  advantages  and  know  that 
not  only  is  their  wen-li  (classical  language)  not 
hindered,  but  that  the  mental  training  they  get  is 
of  immense  value  to  their  wen-li.  The  school 
enjoys  the  hearty  support  and  sympathy  of  all 
the  mission,  and  has  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
Christians,  as  well  as  quite  an  extended  reputa- 
tion." So  gratifying  a  record  of  results  achieved 
marks  the  readiness  of  the  school  for  enlarge- 
ment into  a  college ;  but  this  step,  already  in 
contemplation,  was  deferred  for  a  little  by  the 
furlough  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer.  They  had  been 
sixteen  years  in  Tengchow  without  furlough, 
twice  the  ordinary  length  of  time  now  customary. 
This  in  itself  is  a  commentary  on  their  loyal  de- 
votion to  this  school  and  the  work  in  general. 
They  had  been  unable  to  secure  any  one  capable 
of  taking  charge  of  the  school  during  their  ab- 
sence. Dr.  Wherry,  of  Peking,  finally  came  to 
relieve  them,  making  possible  the  much  needed 
year  of  rest  and  refreshment  in  the  home- 
land.    During  that  year  in  America  the  future 

52 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    53 

college  was  much  in  their  thoughts  and  prayers, 
and  was  the  subject  of  conference  with  the  Board, 
who  approved  the  plan,  and  placed  under  ap- 
pointment Rev.  W.  M.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  to  assist 
in  the  growing  institution. 

Upon  their  return  to  Tengchow,  the  whole 
body  of  students  together  with  the  teachers  went 
out  a  long  distance  beyond  the  city  gates  to 
welcome  them  back.  The  boys  had  especially 
missed  Mrs.  Mateer's  motherly  care.  She  says, 
"  It  seems  so  perfectly  natural  to  be  hobbling 
over  these  rough  streets  and  looking  persistently 
straight  ahead  to  avoid  disgusting  sights,  and 
airing  the  room  to  blow  out  the  smell  after  call- 
ers leave,  that  I  can  hardly  realize  that  we  have 
been  so  long  and  so  far  away."  Again  :  "  We 
have  such  an  interminable  amount  of  talking  to 
do  here.  I  spent  full  six  hours  talking  with  one 
man  about  his  boy,  and  an  hour  and  a  half  ex- 
horting the  man  who  sent  him  here." 

By  this  time  the  school  had  increased  in 
number  from  forty-five  to  seventy,  and  presented 
many  problems  in  connection  with  its  enlarging 
life.  Of  this  she  writes:  "The  school  has  quite 
outgrown  our  strength.  We  have  now,  of 
course,  a  great  deal  of  Chinese  help,  but  there  is 
much  work  none  of  them  can  do.  They  are 
faithful  and  energetic  teachers,  but  lack  in 
resource  and  thoroughness,  so  that  they  need 
constant    supervision.     As   to   moral   influence, 


54     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

their  intentions  and  purposes  are  all  right,  but 
they  are  without  the  independence  and  strength 
to  make  their  influence  felt  as  we  have  succeeded 
in  doing."  **  With  the  large  increase  of  students 
both  Calvin  and  I  fear  for  the  influence  of  the 
school.  Its  moral  standard  will  not  rise  higher. 
Indeed  we  fear  it  will  fall.  It  is  not  possible  to 
reach  sixty  or  seventy  pupils  and  do  as  much  for 
them  as  for  thirty  or  forty."  In  1891  she  says  : 
"  If  we  get  more  money  we  can  enlarge  a  little  ; 
but  not  much.  One  hundred  students  is  enough 
for  one  institution  in  a  heathen  land,  even  when 
many  of  the  parents  are  Christians.  I  think  I 
see  why  the  schools  in  India  have  not  had  a 
more  powerful  Christian  influence.  It  is  because 
they  grew  in  numbers  too  fast.  The  mass  was 
too  great  for  the  amount  of  leaven  to  permeate 
it  through  and  through.  We  were  impatient  at 
first  of  our  slow  growth  for  so  many  years,  but 
we  see  now  it  was  best.  We  could  never  have 
gained  so  much  influence  except  by  beginning 
with  a  small  number  and  working  up  gradually." 
The  emphasis  placed  upon  personal  influence 
by  these  founders  of  Tengchow  College  was 
certainly  wiser  than  would  have  been  an  ambi- 
tion to  have  a  very  large  institution.  The  plan 
of  creating  large  "  trusts "  may  succeed  as 
success  is  measured  by  financiers,  but  great 
combinations  do  not  win  out  in  character-build- 
ing.    Character   is   a   hand-made  product  with 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    55 

personal  influence  as  the  all-powerful  agency. 
Such  influence  is  lost  when  large  aggregations 
of  students  are  to  be  dealt  with.  The  atmosphere 
tends  to  become  saturated  with  worldly  ambition, 
and  the  missionary  educator  is  found  nourishing 
the  very  thing  he  professes  to  deplore.  The 
great  need  is  smaller  colleges,  widely  distributed, 
and  conducted  by  qualified  men  of  evangelistic 
spirit,  in  which  can  be  taught  the  foundations  of 
the  sciences,  that  will  break  down  ignorance  and 
superstition,  while  training  men  of  influence  for 
all  positions,  preeminently  the  ministry.  With 
this  point  of  view  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  remained 
to  the  end  of  their  lives  in  ardent  sympathy.  In 
accord  with  this  also  was  the  judgment  of  Dr. 
EUinwood.  "  I  have  long  regarded  Tengchow 
as  the  best  type  of  college  and  the  best  higher 
educational  work  to  be  found  in  China ;  and 
although  there  are  greater  names  applied  to 
other  institutions,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the 
Tengchow  School  is  most  worthy  of  the  name 
of  College.  I  wish  we  had  more  funds  for  its 
use,  but  as  between  a  more  ambitious  plant,  and 
a  living,  growing,  overcrowded  institution,  I 
would  rather  have  the  latter.  A  big,  healthy  boy 
with  short  trousers  and  scanty  jacket  is  much 
better  than  a  sickly  sprig  with  the  best  and  most 
ample  tailoring." 

In   1882  the  mission  formally  voted  to  ask  the 
Board  to  sanction  the  enlargement  of  Tengchow 


56     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

High  School  into  a  college.  The  Board  acceded 
to  this  request,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  were 
sent  out.  There  was  already  a  good  outfit  of 
physical  and  chemical  apparatus,  also  a  fine 
telescope  on  the  way.  The  college  was  most 
fortunate  in  the  efficient  and  valuable  service  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  who  for  eighteen  years 
were  connected  with  it.  Dr.  Hayes  serving  as  its 
distinguished  president  for  the  last  six  years  of 
that  time. 

Mrs.  Mateer's  improved  health  now  enabled 
her  to  do  an  increased  amount  of  teaching,  of 
which  she  writes :  **  I  enjoy  it,  and  we  can 
see  the  good  effect  of  my  being  more  with  the 
students  in  the  class  room.  It  seems  to  me  that 
some  of  my  most  effective  work  is  done  here.  I 
do  not  refer  now  so  much  to  the  teaching,  as  to 
the  indirect  influence  of  this  daily  contact."  As 
the  work  of  the  college  developed,  she  highly 
appreciated  the  importance  of  having  women 
teach  advanced  studies,  and  the  influence  this 
enabled  them  to  exert.  When  later  she  suffered 
much  from  distress  in  her  head,  and  found  her- 
self unable  to  do  as  much  advanced  teaching  as 
she  longed  to  do,  she  always  felt  that  she  was 
missing  a  great  opportunity,  and  rejoiced  when 
other  women  could  be  found  to  share  the  college 
work.  In  this  Mrs.  Mateer  showed  excellent 
judgment.  Nothing  is  more  worthy  of  remark 
than  the  influence  of  women  where  they  have 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    57 

been  teachers  in  the  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  education 
in  China  to-day  is  not  suffering  for  lack  of  their 
influence  in  the  class  rooms  of  the  colleges. 

In  ways  that  lay  outside  the  class  room  Mrs. 
Mateer  always  gave  special  attention  to  the 
younger  boys,  conducting  for  them  a  weekly 
prayer-meeting  in  which  she  succeeded  in  greatly 
interesting  them  and  awakening  their  con- 
sciences. It  was  a  settled  custom  to  conduct  by 
groups  an  examination  of  the  Sunday  morning 
sermon,  each  student  giving  something  that  had 
impressed  him.  Mrs.  Mateer  always  met  with 
the  younger  boys.  *'  At  one  time  a  boy  who  sat 
about  the  middle  of  the  class  adopted  the  plan 
of  saying  the  other  boys  had  already  given  all 
his  points.  Mrs.  Mateer  *  caught  on,'  and  next 
time  asked  him  the  first.  He,  taken  quite 
unaware,  foolishly  made  his  usual  answer,  when 
all  the  other  boys  laughed."  From  the  giving 
of  one  thought  or  sentence  they  were  tactfully 
led  on  until  they  would  be  able  to  reproduce 
much  of  the  sermon.  This  meeting  she  closed 
with  prayer. 

Still  another  plan  was  to  go  out  to  the  school, 
sit  in  the  court,  and  when  the  boys  had  gathered 
around  her,  tell  them  Old  Testament  and  vari- 
ous other  stories.  "  She  could  tell  a  story  with 
an  earnestness  and  life-likeness  that  held  the 
closest  attention,  and  fixed   the   lesson  on  the 


58     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

\  mind,  never  to  be  forgotten ;  stories  of  self- 
I  conquest,  of  persevering  industry,  of  noble  and 
Christlike  lives.  She  believed  that  every  child 
had  something  good,  and  should  have  a  fair 
opportunity  to  develop  the  best  possible,  to  over- 
come and  eradicate  by  God's  help  everything 
mean  and  sinful.'* 

Again,  visits_  to  the  homes  of  the  boj^  consti- 
tuted an  important  and  necessary  feature  of  her 
work,  enabling  her  to  touch  their  lives  through 
relationships  formed  with  their  home  people. 
She  says:  "A  visit  to  the  mother  gives  me  a 
hold  on  the  boy  such  as  nothing  else  can." 
Heralded  by  the  schoolboys,  her  name  had  gone 
before,  and  many  mothers  and  other  friends  were 
anxious  to  see  and  hear  her.  They  would  take 
her  around  to  all  their  friends,  and  crowds  would 
come  to  see  her.  Her  influence  through  her 
medical  work  in  the  schools  is  described  else- 
where. In  such  ways  she  came  to  know  the 
boys  thoroughly,  their  home  circumstances,  their 
joys  and  sorrows,  trials  and  temptations,  gain- 
ing an  influence  that  continued  through  their 
college  course,  and  after  their  graduation.  She 
says :  **  God  has  greatly  blessed  us  in  some  of 
these  young  men.  In  their  work  I  think  we, 
with  those  at  home  who  support  and  pray  for  us, 
have  a  glorious  reward." 

In  the  year.  '86  she  writes  of  the  beginning  of 
a  missionary  society  in  the  college :  **We  have 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    59 

just  organized  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
which  promises  well.  The  monthly  concert  has 
always  been  observed  here,  and  we  have  always 
tried  to  interest  the  boys  in  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  The  Tengchow  church  has  long  sup- 
ported an  evangelist,  besides  helping  the  poor. 
All  the  boys  who  are  members  of  the  church 
contribute,  most  of  them,  for  their  circumstances, 
quite  liberally  ;  but  this  is  their  first  giving  to 
any  object  beyond  our  own  province.  The  so- 
ciety studies  the  religious  conditions  of  the  world 
by  countries,  writing  essays  on  the  manners,  cus- 
toms, history,  religion  and  the  fruits  of  the  re- 
ligion. Once  a  year  they  hold  a  public  meeting 
for  which  they  prepare  something  special.  This 
involves  much  labor  for  the  translator."  For 
many  years  Mrs.  Mateer  translated  material  for 
this  meeting,  and  for  each  monthly  meeting. 
Mrs.  Hayes  and  Mrs.  Ritchie,  who  did  this  in 
her  absence,  found  it  no  light  task. 

Of  one  meeting  she  writes  :  **  Last  Wednesday 
we  had  an  enthusiastic  missionary  meeting  and 
raised  sixty  thousand^  cash  for  the  debt  of  our 
Foreign  Missionary,  Board.     In  this  meeting  one  | 
of  the  speakers,  with  Chinese  aptness,  said :   *  In  ; 
America  they  think  us  Chinese  about  the  off-  1 
scouring  of  the  earth.     Now  if  we  come  up  to  j 
the  work,  and  do  our  best,  it  will  count  for  more  j 
than   if   people   in  better  repute  had  done  the 
same  thing.    You  know  if  some  worthless  wretch 


6o     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

of  whom  there  seems  no  ground  to  hope  for  any- 
good  ceases  from  some  of  his  badness,  every- 
body begins  to  praise  him ;  whereas,  his  neigh- 
bor, who  has  always  been  upright,  does  much 
better  things  every  day,  and  no  one  notices  him. 
So  it  will  be  with  us  if  we  do  our  duty.  The 
people  in  the  United  States  will  say  :  "  They  are 
not  so  bad  after  all.  It  is  worth  while  still  to 
work  for  the  Chinese."  Though  what  we  are 
able  to  do  is  not  much,  it  may  be  Hke  a  drop  of 
pain-killer  to  the  stomach-ache  man.'  " 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  about  twenty 
years  after  the  organization  of  this  society,  the 
Presbyterian  membership  of  ten  thousand  in 
Shantung  organized  a  missionary  society  and 
sent  missionaries  to  a  destitute  place  in  another 
province.  Those  whom  Mrs.  Mateer  had  in- 
fluenced were  prominent  in  this  movement  and 
one  of  her  students  is  the  leader  of  this  band. 

In  1890  Mrs.  Ritchie  began  and  continued  for 
four  years  in  the  college  work  for  which  her  late 
husband  had  been  preparing.  She  made  her 
home  with  the  Mateers,  and  gives  her  first  im- 
pression of  Mrs.  Mateer  :  "  Never  will  the  mem- 
ory of  that  face  be  dimmed  in  my  mind.  Those 
wonderful  dark  eyes  that  beamed  with  such 
loving  sympathy  !  That  face  so  strong,  which 
showed  the  traces  of  great  suffering,  but  with 
all,  such  wonderful  serenity!  The  impression 
made  was  this — if  ever  I  were  in  great  trouble  I 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    6i 

should  like  to  have  Mrs.  Mateer  with  me."  Upon 
leave-taking  to  marry  Mr.  Lingle  she  says  :  "  It 
is  with  great  sorrow  we  separate,  for  the  love  o[ 
mother  and  daughter  has  grown  up  between  us. 
I  feel  that  whatever  I  have  accomplished  or 
hereafter  may  accomplish  is,  humanly  speaking, 
due  to  the  influence  and  example  of  Mrs.  Mateer." 

During  a  missionary  life  of  thirty-four  years 
Mrs,  Mateer  visited  the  home-land  but  twice. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  and  Mrs.  Ritchie  made 
possible  her  second  furlough  in  '93.  Soon  after 
her  return  to  China  she  attended  mission  meet- 
ing in  Weihsien,  and  writes  :  **  The  work  seems 
all  the  sweeter  that  we  see  so  many  new  fruits 
of  our  former  labors  which  have  come  to  light 
while  we  have  been  away.  There  are  eighteen 
of  our  Tengchow  boys  here.  They  made  a  din- 
ner for  us,  and  we  spent  some  four  hours  together 
very  pleasantly.  The  affectionate  attention  they 
pay  us  is  a  rich  return  for  our  interest  in  them, 
and  the  work  they  are  doing  an  ample  reward 
for  our  labors." 

Mrs.  Mateer  had  now  lived  to  see  the  school 
and  college  she  had  helped  to  found  grown  to 
full  stature  and  regarded  as  the  best  educational 
institution  in  China.  The  record  for  the  year 
'94  shows  it  had  graduated  forty-seven  in  the 
full  course  and  twenty  in  a  partial  course,  all 
being  professing  Christians.  The  curriculum  of 
studies  had  been  made  fully  equal  to  that  of  the 


62     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

average  American  college,  Chinese  classics  being 
substituted  for  Latin  and  Greek.  Instruction  in 
Western  sciences — mathematics,  physics,  me- 
chanics, engineering,  chemistry  and  astronomy 
was  quite  remarkable  for  thoroughness,  Dr.  Ma- 
teer  being  an  enthusiast  in  this  department, 
and  making,  with  the  assistance  of  his  trained 
Chinese  helpers,  much  of  his  own  excellent 
apparatus.  These  studies  were  added  to  only 
as  fast  as  it  was  possible  to  have  thorough  in- 
struction in  the  new  departments,  thorough- 
ness being  always  a  cardinal  and  determining 
consideration.  The  total  number  of  students 
in  attendance  was  about  one  hundred.  Of  the 
forty-seven  graduates,  ten  had  studied  for  the 
ministry,  eleven  were  college  professors  at  Teng- 
chow  and  elsewhere,  the  remainder  were  teachers 
and  lay  helpers.  The  college  continued  to  main- 
tain its  high  standard  of  excellence,  its  graduates 
also  increasing  in  number  from  year  to  year. 
They  were  eagerly  sought  for  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility, and  as  soon  as  advanced  govern- 
ment schools  were  opened  many  of  the  Tengchow 
graduates  were  employed  as  professors,  espe- 
cially in  science.  As  early  as  1897,  Dr.  Mateer 
writes :  ''  Dr.  Martin  has  engaged  for  the  great 
university  at  Peking,  started  by  the  young  em- 
peror, twelve  of  our  young  men  as  professors; 
in  fact,  all  the  young  professors  of  Western 
learning  are  from  our  college,  save  one." 


HIGHER  STEPS  IN  COLLEGE-MAKING    63 

In  1904  the  college  was  removed  to  Weihsien, 
a  place  on  the  railroad,  much  nearer  the  centre 
of  the  province,  and  there  made  the  Shantung 
Union  College.  The  following  is  an  account  of 
those  who  graduated  at  Tengchow,  but  it  repre- 
sents only  about  half  the  students,  since  as  many 
more  left  before  graduation. 

Teachers  in  church  schools 68 

Teachers  in  government  schools 38 

Pastors 17 

Evangelists 16 

Doctors 7 

Engaged  in  literary  work 10 

Engaged  in  business 9 

Engaged  in  Y.  M.  C.  A 2 

Engaged  in  various  other  occupations 16 

Dead 22 

Total 205 

These  men  are  scattered  among  thirteen  de-" 
nominations,  and  one  hundred  schools,  in  sixteen 
different  provinces.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  the  Tengchow  College,  in  itself  and  through 
the  men  whom  its  training  had  produced,  affected 
for  good  the  whole  education  of  China.  There 
had  come  to  be  a  very  manifest  improvement  in 
methods  and  a  marked  change  in  the  favor  with 
which  the  educational  branch  of  missionary  work 
was  regarded  by  most  missionaries.  Even  whole 
denominations  decided  that  their  policy  of  neg- 
lecting educational  work  had  been  a  mistake,  and 


64     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

they  were  proposing  to  rectify  it  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  feeling  cherished  by  the  body  of  gradu- 
ates and  students  concerning  Mrs.  Mateer's  part 
in  the  college  was  fittingly  expressed  just  before 
her  last  illness,  on  her  sixtieth  birthday.  With 
most  imposing  ceremony  they  presented  her  with 
a  beautiful,  decorated  silk  mantle,  bearing  all  their 
names,  and  placed  a  large  title,  or  sign,  in  gilt 
letters  over  the  front  door  of  her  home  :  "  Aged 
Character- Nourishing  Mother ^^  or  freely  trans- 
lated, *'  The  Aged  Mother  Who  Has  Nurtured 
Noble  Menr  It  was  the  proudest  day  of  her  life 
when  these  young  men  presented  her  with  this 
token  of  their  loving  reverence  and  esteem. 
When  she  was  laid  to  rest,  not  long  after,  the 
beautiful  mantle  was,  at  the  earnest  request  of 
the  Chinese,  thrown  as  a  pall  over  her  coffin,  and 
the  scrolls,  banners,  and  silken  canopy  were  car- 
ried at  the  head  of  the  procession,  first  to  the 
church,  and  then  to  the  cemetery. 


VI 

DIFFICULTIES  AND  DISCOURAGEMENTS 

THE  foregoing  chapter  upon  Mrs.  Mateer's 
school  work  leaves  much  deserving  of 
mention.  No  one  can  adequately  por- 
tray the  difficulties  under  which  a  Christian  col- 
lege was  built  up  in  China.  Below  are  given 
some  that  confronted  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer. 
Among  these  the  most  serious  was  Mrs.  Mateer's 
lack  from  the  first  of  vigorous  health.  This  was 
not  owing  to  clim.ate,  for  Northern  China  has  one 
of  the  best  in  the  world  ;  it  was  partly  organic, 
partly  due  to  her  experiences  on  the  voyage,  but 
chiefly  to  the  constant  and  tremendous  strain  of 
overwork. 

A  fellow  missionary  says  :  **  She  offered  herself 
to  the  service  of  her  friends  with  a  most  generous 
devotion.  I  think  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
she  gave  herself  a  sacrifice  for  the  people  to  whom 
she  devoted  her  life.  Her  sympath}'  with  all  who 
came  to  her  bringing  their  trials  and  burdens  of 
sorrow,  and  her  constant  thought  how  she  could 
help  and  spare  others  was  a  burden  she  gladly 
bore,  but  I  fear  it  often  made  a  heavy  call  upon 
exhausted  nerves  and  strength." 

Another  says,  concerning  a  visit  to  the  home 
65 


66     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

of  Mrs.  Mateer :  **  I  learned  to  sympathize  with 
the  disciples  who  went  aside  to  rest.  They  were 
hoping  for  an  uninterrupted  communion  with 
Jesus,  only  to  find  that  the  multitudes  had  out- 
run them,  and  were  waiting  on  the  other  side. 
Our  visit  was  constantly  interrupted  by  school- 
boys, teachers,  evangelists,  Chinese  women  and 
children,  as  well  as  missionaries,  seeking  the  ad- 
vice and  help  never  denied  them ;  yet  her  brave 
overwhelmingly  busy  and  cheerful  life  helped  me 
more  than  any  hour  of  conversation  could  have 
done.'' 

Still  another :  *'  I  remember  Mrs.  Mateer,  who 
all  her  life  in  China  suffered  from  ill  health  and 
so  worked  always  at  a  disadvantage,  remarking 
once  that  she  felt  like  one  of  the  mules  in  a  mule- 
litter,  with  raw  spots  on  his  back,  that  had  all 
day  to  plod  along  with  his  fearful  load  constantly 
rubbing  his  sores." 

Once  she  confesses :  "  Certainly  it  would  be 
far  easier  to  be  patient  with  others  if  one  had  no 
aching  body  or  quivering  nerves  to  worry  her. 
Vesterday  was  cloudy  and  damp.  Were  I  a 
heathen  I  should  say  it  was  dedicated  to  the  God 
of  Rheumatism.  I  heard  my  classes,  and  put  in 
the  rest  of  the  day  groaning."  Again  :  "  This 
year  has  been  a  trying  one  in  the  school.  The 
chief  teacher  has  done  very  badly,  the  younger 
teacher  left  after  my  return  from  the  country  and 
we   have   not  been   able   to   supply   his   place. 


DIFFICULTIES  67 

Somehow,  I  have  to  spend  the  day  in  bed  oftener 
and  take  more  rest  than  I  did  last  winter.  I  get 
clear  tired  of  the  Chinese  and  want  to  go  home, 
but  I  have  never  kept  that  notion  for  more  than 
one  day."  The  wear  of  heathen  surroundings 
and  the  continuous  presence  of  the  Chinese 
pressed  heavily  upon  her.  During  a  few  days 
spent  at  Dr.  Martin's  mountain-retreat  near  Pe- 
king she  writes  :  "  How  delightful  it  is,  this  pure 
mountain  air,  after  the  dust,  filth  and  smells  of 
the  city, — real  grass  and  great  acres  of  it  clothing 
the  hillsides  to  their  summits,  oaks  and  maples 
such  as  I  have  not  seen  for  years.  I  have  never 
before  since  I  came  to  China  been  for  one  whole 
day  out  of  the  sight  and  hearing  of  the  Chinese. 
You  can  imagine  how  I  enjoy  this  retreat  where 
I  can  spend  a  half  day  at  a  time  entirely  alone  if 
I  choose." 

The  following  gives  a  picture  of  one  day's 
work :  **  As  I  cannot  sleep  for  a  while,  I  will 
write  you.  Before  I  came  down-stairs  this  morn- 
ing, the  house  woman  came  to  say  that  her  baby 
had  been  sick  all  night  with  croup,  and  asked  me 
to  get  her  some  medicine.  I  quickly  gave  her 
some  oil  and  camphor,  together  with  some  ipecac, 
and  hurried  her  ofT  home.  A  man  was  waiting  to 
say  that  the  chair-bearers  of  Mrs.  Mateer,  going 
to  Weihsien,  had  struck  for  higher  pay,  and  the 
servant  who  was  to  have  gone  with  her  flew  up 
and  had  a  mind  not  to  go.     A  lot  of  time  was 


68     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

spent  in  dickering,  chair-bearers  were  secured  and 
a  servant  hunted  up.  After  breakfast  we  had 
Chinese  and  EngUsh  letters  to  send  off  to  Chefoo  ; 
then  I  went  to  see  the  sick  baby.  I  had  a  hard 
history  lesson  to  get  and  two  classes  to  hear  and 
three  boys  wanted  eye  medicine,  one  worm 
medicine,  and  six  cough  medicine,  while  a  coun- 
try brother  wanted  three  kinds  of  medicines  for 
his  friends,  and  the  chair-bearers  all  had  to  have 
some  before  they  started,  and  it  rained  a  litde, 
and  you  may  add  to  all  this  eight  or  ten  Chinese 
standing  looking  on.  Finally,  at  one  o'clock  Mrs. 
Mateer  got  off,  and  I  rushed  over  to  the  girls' 
school  to  see  Mrs.  Shaw  and  get  directions  as  to 
what  needed  attention  during  her  visit  in  the 
country.  There  is  a  nasty  scrape  on  which  needs 
to  be  settled.  We  decided  that  after  Mrs.  Shaw 
leaves  I  am  to  expel  one  girl,  whip  another,  and 
give  a  good  scolding  and  perhaps  whipping  to  a 
third.  I  came  home  to  find  my  arithmetic  class 
waiting.  After  delivering  messages  to  a  number 
of  pupils,  I  felt  tired,  and  went  up-stairs  to  see 
the  baby  and  calm  my  nerves  before  supper. 
My  days  are  not  all  like  this,  but  simply  very 
busy  and  very  miscellaneous." 

Mrs.  Mateer's  breakdowns  were  due  to  emer- 
gencies that  laid  on  her  additional  burdens. 
The  following  is  one  illustration  of  many  such 
experiences :  During  the  summer  of  1867  a 
horde  of  robbers  from  Honan,  a  remnant  of  the 


DIFFICULTIES  69 

Tai  Ping  Rebellion,  swept  through  Shantung 
Province.  They  produced  such  wide-spread 
panic  that  the  country  people  fled  for  protection 
to  the  high-walled  cities,  or  the  mountains. 
These  robbers  killed,  plundered  and  burned 
wherever  they  went.  Tengchow  City  was  alive 
with  those  who  had  taken  refuge  within  its  walls. 
They  lodged  in  every  conceivable  place.  The 
mission  premises  were  crowded  and  Kwan  Yin 
Tang  was  no  exception.  About  seventy  people 
lodged  in  the  court,  many  of  whom  were  sick. 
Mrs.  Mateer  gave  her  whole  time  to  them.  She 
doctored  and  nursed  the  sick,  fed  the  hungry, 
comforted  and  preached  to  all.  The  great  crowds 
and  the  exposure  caused  an  epidemic  of  fever. 
Among  those  in  the  compound  there  were  several 
cases  to  whom  she  gave  such  careful  attention 
that  not  one  died.  Furthermore,  her  sister  was  ill 
during  this  time.  The  strain  of  all  of  this  in 
addition  to  her  regular  work  precipitated  a 
breakdown  from  which  she  recovered  only  after 
a  trip  to  Peking,  and  later  to  Shanghai  for  rest 
and  care.  One  of  the  trying  phases  of  this  was 
the  loss  of  her  voice  so  that  she  could  not  speak 
above  a  whisper,  and  from  this  she  suffered  at 
various  other  times. 

Of  the  missionaries  who  came  07ie  after  another 
to  assist  in  the  school^  ten  died,  bj^oke  down  in  some 
way  or  other,  or  withdrew  to  he  married.  Each 
disappointment  left  the  Mateers  sorrowful  and  dis- 


70     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

consolate,  but  they  still  held  on,  bent  upon  trying 
again.  '*  Pressed  on  every  side  yet  not  straight- 
ened ;  perplexed,  yet  not  unto  despair ;  pursued, 
yet  not  forsaken;  smitten  down,  yet  not  des- 
troyed." 

For  many  long  years  the  absence  of  physicians 
i7t  Tengchow  was  an  embarrassment,  and  a7t 
added  burden.  In  the  earlier  years  of  mission 
work  there  were  but  few  doctors  who  responded 
to  the  missionary  call.  Mrs.  Mateer's  own  health 
suffered  from  lack  of  medical  care,  and  from  force 
of  necessity  she  shouldered  the  burdensome  re- 
sponsibility and  work  of  doctoring  the  boys,  and 
many  outside  the  school  as  well. 

The  school  sicffered  07t  account  of  insufficient  as 
well  as  old  and  iitferior  buildings,  some  of  which 
must  have  been  unsanitary.  During  the  first 
years  the  main  school  building  was  used  for 
church  purposes,  an  arrangement  that  meant  in- 
convenience and  confusion.  After  about  thirty 
years  five  thousand  dollars  was  put  into  new 
school  buildings,  but  this  was  only  a  short  time 
before  the  college  was  moved  to  Weihsien.  The 
Mateers  were  somewhat  reconciled  to  such  poor 
accommodations  by  the  desire  to  keep  their 
students  in  touch  with  the  common  people  among 
whom  it  was  hoped  many  of  them  would  labor. 
They  certainly  had  exceptional  success  in  this  di- 
rection, though  the  plant  would  have  made  a 
poor    showing    to    a    millionaire    visitor   from 


DIFFICULTIES  71 

America.  The  outcome  of  the  school  indicates 
that  in  China  it  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of 
plainness  and  simplicity  rather  than  to  transplant 
the  elaborate  equipment,  the  pretension,  and  dis- 
play of  the  West. 

The  lack  of  books  was  serious  but  this  did  not 
daunt  these  missionaries.  They  were  always 
champions  of  the  idea  that  the  whole  college 
curriculum  could  and  should  be  taught  in  the 
Chinese  language.  Drs.  Mateer  and  Hayes  pre- 
pared various  scientific  and  mathematical  books 
which  are  in  extensive  use,  and  taught  others 
from  manuscript.  Mrs.  Mateer  assisted  her  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Capp,  in  publishing  a  mental  arith- 
metic ;  but  her  chief  contribution  in  this  field  was 
the  preparation  of  a  hymn-and-tune  book.  She 
felt  the  importance  of  song  among  the  Chinese, 
who  as  heathen  never  sing,  but  who  are  fond  of 
music  and  can  be  taught  to  sing  well.  This  book 
was  found  necessary  and  was  wrought  out  in 
connection  with  her  years  of  music  teaching  in 
the  school,  and  also  in  the  church,  where  she  led 
the  music  until  she  had  trained  the  choir.  It  is 
a  statement  of  the  principles  of  vocal  music,  in 
the  form  of  questions  and  answers,  followed  by 
a  series  of  progressive  exercises,  rounds,  lays, 
etc.,  together  with  a  large  collection  of  church 
tunes  and  hymns.  It  uses  a  modified  system  of 
shaped  notes  which  makes  the  acquisition  of 
vocal  music  easier,  while  not  impairing  its  use  for 


72     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

the  instrument.  As  this  book  had  a  wide  circula- 
tion Mrs.  Mateer  later  revised  and  stereotyped  it. 
The  Chinese  teachers  at  first  were  far  from  sat- 
isfactory. Western  education  was  despised  and 
foreigners  hated,  so  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
secure  good  helpers.  The  best  were  ignorant  of 
all  approved  pedagogy.  For  example,  they  ex- 
pected the  students  to  do  all  the  work,  they  ruled 
entirely  by  fear,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  boys 
praised  the  brighter  and  depreciated  the  duller 
ones.  Custom  called  for  older  men  who  had 
spent  their  lives  poring  exclusively  over  the  Con- 
fucian books  and  had  come  to  revere  Confucius 
as  a  god.  To  give  up  all  of  that  and  acknowledge 
that  Confucius  was  only  a  poor  sinner  like  them- 
selves, in  need  of  a  Saviour,  was  shocking.  Of 
course  while  more  eloquent  for  Confucius  than 
for  Christ  their  religious  influence  could  not  be 
good.  It  is  mentioned  that  one  teacher  who  was 
quite  satisfactory  in  the  school  was  later  found  to 
be  an  opium-smoker  and  gambler,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  city  to  escape  bad  debts. 
After  great  difficulty  another  was  secured.  This 
man's  bodily  presence  was  weak  and  contempti- 
ble but  he  came  highly  recommended.  The  boys 
received  him  as  the  frogs  did  their  king,  and  no 
wonder !  He  was  about  as  efficient  as  a  log  on 
a  throne.  But  finally  by  dint  of  scolding  and 
threatening  he  did  wake  up  and  get  to  work  with 
a  will. 


DIFFICULTIES  73 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  can  readily  be  seen  how- 
very  important  was  Mrs.  Mateer's  close  touch 
with  the  boys  in  counteracting  such  conditions. 
This  state  of  things  is  now  largely  changed,  and 
was  so  even  in  later  years  at  Tengchow.  Cul- 
tured Christian  teachers  of  strong  character  and 
influence  have  been  trained  from  childhood.  The 
introduction  of  Western  learning  has  been  de- 
creed by  the  emperor  and  is  rapidly  becoming 
popular,  while  in  most  cases  correct  religious 
ideas  more  fully  control  school  sentiment. 

The  boySy  especially  in  the  first  years^  were 
heathen  and  poverty  stricken.  Even  those  in 
China  cannot  appreciate  the  adverse  conditions 
under  which  a  school  was  conducted  in  the 
earlier  years.  The  Chinese  Church  was  in  its 
infancy  and  not  far  removed  from  heathenism. 
The  only  people  willing  to  brave  the  odium  of 
sending  their  sons  to  a  foreigner's  school  were  the 
very  poor,  who  prized  education  but  could  not 
supply  the  necessary  food,  clothing,  books  and 
tuition.  The  desperate  poverty  of  many  of  the 
Chinese  cannot  be  adequately  described.  The 
furnishing  of  one  of  their  cheerless  homes  consists 
of  about  the  following :  a  mud  brick  bed,  having 
on  it  a  little  roll  of  bedding,  one  table  and  one 
little  cupboard,  a  number  of  large  jars  and  bas- 
kets of  grain,  a  mill,  two  spinning-wheels  and  a 
basket  of  dishes,  together  with  a  donkey  which 
occupies  a  corner  of  the  outer  room.     Coming 


74     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

from  such  homes  as  these,  boys  were  likely  to  be 
wretched  specimens  both  physically  and  morally. 
They  had  probably  been  half  starved  and  but 
half  clothed,  so  that  they  were  unfitted  for  success 
in  study,  and  some  sooner  or  later  had,  on  ac- 
count of  this,  to  be  dismissed.  Indeed  a  certain 
number  of  the  brightest  and  choicest  boys  on  ac- 
count of  insufficient  food  in  early  years  failed  in 
health  and  died  before  completing  their  studies. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  skin  disease  gave 
trouble  in  the  school  especially  after  vacation. 
Mrs,  Mateer  says :  "I  have  found  out  that  three 
boys  have  the  itch.  It  was  once  in  the  school 
for  three  years.  I  doctored  and  worried  and 
worked  with  the  boys  during  all  that  time. 
While  one  was  getting  well  two  others  were  con- 
tracting it.  Finally  I  threatened  to  whip  the 
next  boy  who  was  found  to  have  newly  caught  it, 
and  to  whip  all  who  had  it  if  not  well  within  a 
certain  time.  This  proved  a  specific  and  worked 
like  a  charm,  especially  when  accompanied  by  a 
sulphur  compound  which  was  so  vile-smelling 
that  no  one  wished  to  come  near  the  unfortunate 
who  was  anointed  with  it." 

Moral  delinquencies  found  expression  in  various 
zvays.  One  boy  would  accuse  the  cook  of  graft 
in  hope  of  getting  the  position  for  a  friend ; 
another  would  be  convicted  of  stealing ;  another 
would  be  indolent  and  worthless ;  while  still 
another  would  become  so  prominent  as  a  young 


DIFFICULTIES  75 

baptized  enthusiast  as  to  claim  special  liberty  in 
violation  of  the  rules,  and  being  punished  for  this 
would  sulk,  and  having  lost  the  glory  for  religious 
zeal  would  leave  school. 

Some  would  contract  debts.  At  one  time  this 
became  a  mania,  nearly  every  boy  after  specu- 
lating in  borrowing  and  lending  having  some 
outstanding  debt.  One  of  Mrs.  Mateer's  pupils, 
now  an  honored  teacher,  says  that  when  in  col- 
lege he  borrowed  some  money  from  her,  and  like 
many  other  Chinese  who  borrowed  from  the  mis- 
sionaries, had  no  idea  of  repaying  it.  After  some 
months  he  called  to  see  her.  Just  as  he  was 
leaving,  she  said  to  him  :  "  I  have  been  thinking 
about  a  passage  in  the  Scripture.  I  wonder  if 
you  have  ever  thought  of  it.  Please  turn  to 
Romans  xiii.  8  ('Owe  no  man  anything '),  and 
tell  me  just  what  you  think  it  really  means." 
She  did  it  so  kindly,  he  said,  that  he  could  not 
refuse  to  read  it.  He  read  it  over,  felt  the  color 
coming  to  his  cheek,  resolved  then  and  there  to 
grind  on  the  hand  mill  or  do  anything  to  earn 
mone}'-,  pay  the  debt,  and  never  allow  himself  to 
be  again  in  such  an  embarrassing  position.  He 
carried  out  his  resolve  and  now  after  thirty  years 
rejoices  in  having  no  debts  hanging  over  his 
head. 

Another  boy  had  a  quarrel  with  his  father,  and 
attempted  suicide.  He  went  out  on  some  pre- 
text and  bought  a  large  dose  of  opium  which  he 


76     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

took  as  soon  as  he  returned.  A  student  saw  him 
wiping  a  suspicious-looking  powder  off  his  lips, 
and  heard  him  saying  something  about  "  his 
troubles  being  soon  over,"  so  he  reported  him. 
An  emetic  was  mixed,  but  he  refused  to  take  it. 
It  was  not  the  time  to  coax  and  parley,  so  a 
brisk  application  of  the  ruler  changed  his  mind. 
He  was  soon  past  danger,  though  ill  for  two  or 
three  days.  Later,  Dr.  Mateer  gave  him  a  severe 
whipping  in  the  presence  of  the  school.  This 
was  an  experiment,  but  it  proved  successful,  as 
it  brought  him  to  his  senses,  and  nothing  more 
was  heard  of  the  wrong  done  him  by  saving  his 
life. 

For  various  reaso7is  boys  would  rmi  away  from 
the  school.  Sometimes  it  was  their  own  idea, 
sometimes  that  of  their  home  people.  A  young 
missionary  who  spent  his  first  month  in  the  Mateer 
home  says  that  he  vividly  recollects  a  scene  in 
the  front  yard,  viewed  from  his  window.  A 
schoolboy  was  being  pulled  towards  the  gate  by 
his  father,  while  Mrs.  Mateer  gripped  the  boy  on 
the  other  side  to  retain  him  in  the  school.  The 
struggle  was  long  continued,  but  finally  she  got 
the  boy  back. 

Another  boy  became  frightened  by  reason  of 
some  wild  rumor  and  ran  away.  It  was  said  the 
missionaries  had  medicine  that  would  bewitch, 
that  some  day  they  would  put  the  boys  on  board 
a  ship  and  take  them  to  America,  where  they 


DIFFICULTIES  ^7 

would  make  silver  out  of  their  eyes,  opium  out 
of  their  hearts,  and  other  kinds  of  medicines  out 
of  other  parts  of  their  bodies.  Many  believed 
such  stories,  nearly  all  thought  there  was  some 
truth  in  them,  and  it  was  not  strange  this  boy 
had  become  frightened.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
wretched  opium-smoker,  and  when  he  came  to 
school  he  had  not  had  a  suit  of  clothes  for  two 
years,  nor  any  protection  from  the  cold  of  winter 
except  an  old  ragged  rug,  nor  had  he  been  be- 
yond the  miserable  court  where  he  lived.  An 
older  brother  and  also  a  sister  had  been  at  the 
school  telling  him  these  rumors  that  frightened 
him,  and  making  plans  for  his  escape,  which  was 
soon  effected.  Mrs.  Mateer  says :  '*  After  an 
early  dinner  I  went  in  my  chair  to  pay  the  mar- 
ried sister  a  visit,  having  been  assured  that  she 
knew  where  the  boy  was.  I  told  her  I  had  come 
for  her  brother,  and  that  she  must  find  him. 
Over  and  over  she  averred  that  she  was  not  his 
sister,  but  only  his  cousin.  I  thought  that  even  a 
Chinese  woman  could  not  lie  so,  and  concluded 
I  must  be  in  the  wrong  place,  so  I  sent  for  the 
school  steward  who  assured  me  that  this  was  the 
home  of  the  sister. 

**  When  I  became  tired,  I  took  out  my  book 
and  read  to  show  that  I  was  in  earnest  and 
meant  to  wait  for  the  boy,  but  this  did  not  make 
much  impression.  The  neighbors  came  in  to 
assure  me  that  she  was  only  the  boy's  cousin. 


78     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

and  that  he  had  not  been  to  see  her  for  months. 
We  talked  '  doctrine,'  and  we  talked  about  many 
other  things,  but  she  showed  no  signs  of  yielding. 
Whenever  the  conversation  flagged  I  took  up 
my  book.  After  a  long  time  she  sent  for  the 
older  brother.  He  could  lie  as  glibly  as  she,  but 
not  so  shrewdly.  I  sent  for  my  supper,  which  I 
shared  with  my  hostess  and  her  son.  Then  I 
lighted  my  candle  and  returned  to  my  book. 
The  brother  lay  down  on  a  pile  of  fuel  and  was 
soon  snoring.  The  woman  got  sick,  grew  rapidly 
worse,  and  told  her  son  to  run  for  some  of  her 
friends,  for  she  was  sick  to  the  point  of  death. 
She  began  to  scream,  but  her  brother  snored  on. 
I  stopped  reading  long  enough  to  suggest  a  dose 
of  soda  to  relieve  her  stomach.  I  did  not  get 
frightened  and  she  did  not  die,  but  was  soon 
quite  well. 

"  Finally  I  concluded  that  I  had  enough  of  it, 
and  sent  the  steward  to  suggest  to  Mr.  Mateer 
that  he  come  and  take  the  brother  prisoner. 
This  he  did,  and  about  nine  o'clock  my  visit 
ended.  The  woman  was  as  polite  to  me  all 
afternoon  as  if  I  had  been  the  most  distinguished 
and  welcome  guest,  never  for  a  moment  betray- 
ing what  I  knew  was  the  feeling  of  her  heart. 
Even  after  my  husband  had  dragged  her  brother 
off  to  prison,  she  did  not  forget  her  politeness, 
but  accompanied  me  out  to  the  chair,  expressing 
regrets  that  I  had  been  put  to  so  much  trouble. 


DIFFICULTIES  79 

We  kept  the  prisoner  for  four  or  five  days,  when 
he  got  tired  and  sent  for  his  uncle,  who  soon 
found  the  runaway."  Nothing  but  an  unfailing 
sense  of  humor  could  have  carried  Mrs.  Mateer 
through  this  and  many  similar  experiences. 

The  kitchen  for  the  boys  repeatedly  produced  a 
crop  of  troubles.  On  the  day  the  school  first 
opened  the  cook  who  had  been  employed  de- 
clined to  undertake  the  job.  The  one  secured, 
instead,  grew  tired  of  the  boys,  and  after  the 
first  month  could  not  be  persuaded  to  remain. 
"  In  April  there  was  a  quarrel  about  the  rice. 
The  boys  complained  that  the  food  was  not  so 
good  as  it  should  be  for  the  allowance.  The 
cook  said  he  used  all  the  money  for  the  food. 
After  investigation  a  regular  bill  of  fare  was 
made.  The  boys  were  scolded,  and  one  whipped, 
when  once  more  things  settled  down  peacefully." 

After  a  few  years  it  is  recorded  that  for  more 
than  a  year  there  had  been  much  dissatisfaction 
with  the  cook,  especially  on  the  part  of  the 
larger  boys.  He  was  suspicious  and  censori- 
ous, making  no  allowance  for  the  faults  and 
folly  of  youth.  The  boys  were  equally  suspi- 
cious and  took  no  account  of  his  cares  and 
weariness.  The  suggestion  was  made  that  if  the 
boys  had  a  little  more  employment  and  some 
experience  of  the  care  and  labor  required  to 
provide  their  food,  they  w^ould  have  more  for- 
bearance and  less  time  to  make  trouble.     Ac- 


8o     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

cordingly,  the  experiment  was  for  a  time  adopted 
of  having  the  boys  buy  their  own  provisions, 
saw  the  wood,  carry  the  water,  set  the  table,  etc. 
They  were  delighted.  The  cook  was  not  fault- 
less, but  the  boys  were  too  anxious  to  make  the 
new  plan  succeed  to  find  fault  about  small  things. 
The  cook  would  occasionally  be  accused  of  ap- 
propriating money,  and  the  boy  at  the  head  of 
the  family  would  now  and  then  abstract  some, 
but  these  difficulties  grew  less  as  time  went  on. 

Mrs.  Mateer  had  frequent  opportunity  to  ex- 
ercise tact  in  getting  over  rough  places.  On 
one  occasion  her  cook  bought  a  three-stringed 
fiddle  and  kept  sawing  away  monotonously  and 
discordantly  to  her  great  annoyance.  At  last 
some  particularly  excruciating  strains  brought 
her  out  to  ask  him  what  such  a  fiddle  cost. 
**  Why  do  you  ask? "  said  he.  "  Because  I  want 
to  buy  one."  "  I  will  go  out  at  once  on  the 
street  and  purchase  one  for  you."  *'  No,"  said 
Mrs.  Mateer,  "  I  think  I  should  like  to  buy  this 
one."  "  Why  desire  this  one  specially  ? "  *'  I  want 
to  buy  it  because  I  think  it  should  have  a  rest." 

Natiofial  disturbances  twice  broke  up  the  school 
for  a  time.  In  June,  1870,  the  Tientsin  massacre 
of  Catholics,  and  the  burning  of  their  property 
occurred.  The  country  was  filled  with  rumors 
of  plottings  in  other  directions.  The  murmur* 
ings  increased  and  the  Chinese  in  large  numbers 
caught  at  the  idea,  always  just  below  the  surface 


DIFFICULTIES  8i 

in  China,  of  driving  out  the  hated  foreigners. 
It  was  decided  that  the  missionaries  should  go 
to  Chefoo  on  a  war  vessel,  so  it  was  finally 
necessary  to  dismiss  the  school,  Mrs.  Mateer 
wrote  to  her  sister  :  *'  Our  poor  boys— when  will 
we  get  them  all  back  again?  It  seems  to  me 
that  one  of  the  ends  of  this  day's  trial  to  us  is 
to  teach  us  to  live  more  day  by  day.  We  were 
settled  down  there  in  a  good  climate,  in  a  com- 
fortable home,  with  at  present  very  good  health, 
plenty  and  more  than  plenty  of  delightful  work, 
which  by  God's  blessing  had  been  prospering 
more  and  more  year  by  year.  Of  course  we 
know  this  is  not  our  abiding  place,  but  it  was 
hard  to  realize  it.  I  felt  that  I  was  loving  the 
work  for  the  work's  sake,  forgetful  of  the  great 
end  of  our  work  and  the  Master  who  appointed 
it.  What  I  knew  not  how  to  remember,  God 
knew.  We  cannot  see  at  once  the  whole  of  the 
room  we  are  standing  in.  We  do  not  get  the 
proper  impression  of  a  painting  when  too  near 
it.  So  perhaps  we  have  our  work  taken  from  us 
for  a  while  that  we  may  see  beyond  the  work  to 
its  great  end,  or  rather  we  are  driven  aw^ay  from 
the  work  to  show  that  the  work  is  permanent, — 
we  are  the  accidents." 

During  the  Japanese  war  of  1895,  Tengchow 
was  bombarded  as  a  ruse  to  divert  the  Chinese 
from  Wei-hai-wei,  the  fortified  harbor  taken  by 
the   Japanese.     This  repeated  bombardment  in 


82     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

this  sleepy  old  town  of  course  caused  great  ex- 
citement. The  boys  had  just  gone  home  on 
their  New  Year's  vacation,  but  were  detained 
from  returning  for  about  one  month  after  the 
time  of  term  opening.  The  women  in  alarm 
rushed  to  the  foreign  compound  in  great  num- 
bers. Mrs.  Mateer,  together  with  a  few  others, 
did  not  go  to  Chefoo,  refusing  to  leave  her 
husband  and  the  Christians.  She  comforted  and 
quieted  the  crowds  who  came,  herself  rising  into 
the  serenity  of  an  all-conquering  faith.  Her 
manner  and  her  message  while  the  cannon-balls 
were  flying  over  and  lighting  near  made  a  pro- 
found impression.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  thus 
helped  care  for  the  Christians  and  talk  to  the 
crowd  during  the  day,  and  went  to  be  with  the 
girls  in  the  school  during  the  night,  the  girls  not 
being  able  to  get  away  to  their  homes  for  some 
time  after  the  bombardment. 

In  the  enduring  and  curing  of  all  these  various 
adverse  conditions  there  is  the  shining  out  of 
Mrs.  Mateer's  splendid  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart.  Her  self-control,  her  grace,  her  long, 
steadfast  devotion  to  duty,  both  under  the  diffi- 
cult conditions  of  the  daily  routine  and  in  the 
hour  of  imminent  danger,  mark  her  as  one  more 
example  of  the  splendid  fruitage  of  the  Puritan 
home. 


VII 

FRUIT  GATHERING 

AS  former  chapters  show,  this  school  work 
was  by  no  means  all  discouragement. 
Even  from  the  first  the  boys  were  not 
all,  nor  always,  so  disappointing,  while  the  re- 
ligious character  and  moral  tone  constantly  im- 
proved. As  early  as  '67  Mrs.  Mateer  records  : — 
"  At  the  close  of  the  previous  year  the  Christian 
boys  were  much  impressed  with  the  injury  done 
to  the  school  and  the  cause  of  Christ  by  the  bad 
conduct  of  the  Li  boys,  and  the  heresy  of  the  old 
teacher.  They  entered  into  a  concert  of  prayer 
for  an  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  their 
teachers,  on  their  own  hearts,  and  on  the  school 
at  large.  It  was  begun  for  a  month  but  was 
continued  during  the  whole  year."  Thus  condi- 
tions improved  throughout  the  history  of  the 
school,  until  after  thirty  years  nearly  all  the  one 
hundred  undergraduates  and  all  the  sixty-seven 
graduates  were  professing  Christians. 

The  founders  of  the  school  always  planned  to 
furnish  a  thorough  education  in  the  Chinese 
language  as  well  as  in  Western  branches,  so  that 
graduates  would  be  well  fitted  for  various  im- 
portant positions,  and  hence  none  would  enter 

33 


84     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

the  ministry  unless  really  called  of  God.  In  this 
they  were  eminently  successful.  Many  turned 
to  other  vocations,  but  as  many  became  pastors 
as  the  people  at  that  time  were  ready  to  call. 
The  splendid  consecration  of  our  Shantung  pas- 
tors is  shown  in  the  comparatively  low  salaries 
they  are  willing  to  accept  from  the  Chinese 
Church.  Some  of  them  would  be  able  to  com- 
mand from  five  to  ten  times  as  much  in  other  vo- 
cations. Pastors  in  Western  countries  are  seldom 
called  upon  to  make  such  sacrifices.  All  this  is 
eloquent  in  praise  of  those  who  projected  and 
successfully  wrought  out  an  educational  policy 
in  Shantung. 

In  1890,  five  graduates  were  ordained  to  the 
ministry.  For  years  they  had  been  thoroughly 
tested  as  teachers  and  evangelists.  It  was  fitting 
that  Dr.  Mateer  should  be  moderator  of  this 
presbytery,  and  not  strange  that  the  tears  ran 
down  his  face  as  he  laid  his  hands  upon  their 
heads.  Mrs.  Mateer's  face  showed  her  joy  in  the 
consecration  of  these  "  sons."  They  had  come 
as  little  heathen  boys,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury she  had  given  them  the  best  she  knew. 

There  would  have  been  six  to  be  ordained  had 
not  one  died  a  few  days  before  his  ordination, 
but  his  earnest,  consecrated  life  had  already  borne 
much  fruit,  and  his  story  is  one  of  deep  interest. 
''  Hing  Dao  Wing  was  a  member  of  the  very  first 
class,  gathered  from  out  a  purely  heathen  world. 


FRUIT  GATHERING  85 

at  the  opening  of  the  Tengchow  school  in  1864. 
Neither  these  boys  nor  their  parents  had  ever 
heard  of  the  true  God  or  of  jesus  Christ,  or  of  the 
Bible  or  of  a  church  or  of  a  heaven  or  hell.  The 
parents  would  not  sign  an  indenture  covering 
more  than  five  or  six  years.  This  was  not  strange, 
for  the  people  did  not  know  much  about  the 
missionaries,  and  the  wild  rumors  already  referred 
to  were  half  believed  by  many. 

"  In  consequence  Hing  Dao  Wing  was  not  al- 
lowed to  return  after  his  sixth  year.  However, 
he  had  become  a  professing  Christian.  The  very 
first  New  Year  visit  home  he  hid,  being  willing 
to  risk  a  severe  beating  for  hiding  rather  than 
worship  idols. 

**  Soon  after  joining  the  church  he  promised  to 
give  one  thousand  cash,  equal  to  one  dollar,  to 
help  in  sending  an  evangelist  to  preach  in  his 
village.  He  never  had  twenty-five  cents  a  year 
pocket  money.  When  asked,  *  Where  will  you 
get  one  thousand  cash  to  give?'  he  answered, 
*  I  shall  grind  and  earn  it.'  That  meant  that  he 
would  walk  round  and  round  a  hand  mill,  push- 
ing the  millstone  by  a  handle,  till  he  had  ground 
eighteen  bushels  of  corn.  This  he  did  and  paid 
the  money  promptly. 

"  A  few  years  after  he  was  taken  out  of  school, 
his  aunt  died.  According  to  Chinese  custom  all 
of  her  sons  and  nephews  must  go  to  the  temple 
to  pray  for  her  and  also  bow  down  at  her  coffin 


86     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

and  worship  her  spirit.  Not  to  do  this  would  be 
a  great  offense  to  her,  so  his  friends  were  de- 
termined to  make  Hing  Dao  Wing  perform  this 
worship.  He  had  grown  so  cold  by  this  time 
that  he  consented  to  bow  down  at  the  coffin, 
quieting  his  conscience  by  refusing  to  go  to  the 
temple.  For  this  worship,  and  for  working  on 
the  Sabbath,  he  was  suspended  from  church-mem- 
bership. We  were  sorely  grieved  about  him,  for 
he  had  seemed  a  sincere  Christian,  and  we  had 
fondly  hoped  that  some  day  he  would  be  a  min- 
ister. We  did  not  give  him  up  but  kept  on  pray- 
ing that  God  would  make  him  a  good  man,  bring 
him  back  to  school  and  call  him  to  be  a  minister. 

**  Having  tried  in  vain  to  obtain  his  people's 
consent  to  his  returning  to  school,  finally  after 
six  years  he  took  the  law  into  his  own  hands  and 
came  back  to  finish  his  studies  and  work  for  his 
Saviour.  He  studied  diligently  and  became  a 
fine  scholar,  teaching  a  year  in  the  college.  But 
he  felt  called  to  preach  the  Gospel  as  an  evangel- 
ist, so  although  highly  prizing  him  as  a  teacher, 
we  could  not  object  to  his  going. 

"  He  preached  at  thirty  Christian  stations 
under  Dr.  Nevius  for  two  years,  then  entered  the 
theological  class.  During  this  time  of  study  he 
spent  five  months  of  each  year  in  evangelistic 
work  in  the  Weihsien  field.  One  fall,  in  company 
with  one  of  the  missionaries,  he  preached  in  two 
hundred  villages,  going  to  eight  or  ten  daily. 


FRUIT  GATHERING  Zj 

This  was  hard  work.  Often  scholars  came  out 
and  scowled  at  the  crowd  on  the  street  so  that 
all  dispersed.  The  sentiment  was  so  strong 
against  the  foreigner  that  the  villages  would  not 
supply  a  place  to  rest  at  noon,  nor  warm  water 
to  make  tea,  so  these  two  ate  Chinese  hardtack 
and  a  turnip  out  along  the  road  in  a  place 
sheltered  from  the  cold  wind. 

"Through  all  this  Mr.  Hing  was  unfailingly 
cheerful  and  always  ready  for  all  the  discourage- 
ment and  weariness  connected  with  this  campaign. 
He  was  an  attractive  and  consecrated  man  and 
his  death  was  sorely  mourned  by  many." 

Our  Shantung  pastors  are  forceful,  evangelical 
preachers.  They  are  bright,  enterprising  and  en- 
thusiastic in  their  work  and  the  churches  under 
their  care  are  rapidly  growing  in  numbers  and 
intelligence.  Rev.  Ting  Li  Mei  *  is  an  example  of 
the  Tengchow  students  who  have  given  their 
lives  to  the  ministry.  His  family  was  of  some 
standing.  They  had  planned  for  their  unusually 
gifted  son  prominence  in  government  employ 
and  were  bitterly  opposed  to  his  entering  the 
Christian  ministry.  However  the  Spirit  of  God 
prevailed  and  in  due  time  he  became  the  pastor 
of  a  congregation.  The  Boxer  outbreak  over- 
took him,  but  he  stayed  with  his  flock.  As  the 
leader,  he  was  seized,  beaten  and  left  for  dead, 
but  like  Paul  he  revived.     Again  they  ordered 

1  Also  written  Ding  Li  Mei. 


88     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

him  beaten  because  he  would  not  deny  his 
Saviour,  and  he  was  rescued  by  the  missionaries 
through  the  influence  of  the  United  States 
Consul,  Mr.  Fowler,  with  the  governor.  Yuan 
Shi  Kai. 

He  built  up  different  congregations,  but  his 
strength  of  character,  together  with  his  great 
faith  and  ardent  zeal,  led  him  away  from  a  single 
congregation  to  the  conduct  of  revival  meetings 
in  many  places  in  North  China.  Thousands  have 
been  quickened  and  thousands  brought  into  the 
kingdom  through  his  preaching  and  prayers. 
He  knows  nothing  of  the  modern  uncertainty 
and  hesitation  in  his  intensely  earnest  and  inter- 
esting presentation  of  the  great  spiritual  truths 
of  sin  and  salvation,  while  his  prayers  move  the 
very  throne  of  God. 

Mr.  Ting  writes  the  following  :  **  I  once  asked 
Mrs.  Mateer  to  loan  me  some  money.  *  For 
what  purpose  ? '  said  she.  *  To  buy  a  small  coat,' 
I  replied.  She  asked  when  and  how  I  purposed 
to  repay  her,  which  I  could  not  answer.  *  Better 
allow  me  to  propose  a  plan.  You  come  daily 
and  care  for  my  flowers.  I  will  loan  you  the 
money  and  credit  you  with  the  work.  You  will 
thus  be  free  from  debt,  and  I  shall  have  my 
flowers  cared  for.'  So  wise  was  all  her  helpful- 
ness. 

"  One  day  she  gave  me  nine  hundred  cash, 
asking   me  to  take  it  to  a  friend  of  hers  who 


TING    LI    MEI 


FRUIT  GATHERING  89 

lived  in  the  *  Water-City,'  north  of  the  city  proper, 
in  the  ninth  house  from  the  south  end,  on  the 
street  facing  the  west  bank  of  the  river.  Follow- 
ing these  minute  directions,  I  found  Mrs.  Mateer's 
friend,  who  proved  to  be  extremely  poor.  More- 
over, he  was  partially  paralyzed  ;  his  eyes,  mouth, 
hands  and  feet  were  twisted,  and  he  walked  with 
great  difficulty  as  he  went  about  begging  for 
food.  This  unfortunate  Mrs.  Mateer  considered 
her  friend,  and  sent  me*  specially  to  visit  him. 
Did  she  not  do  this  to  teach  me  to  have  pity  on 
the  poor  ?  Certainly  what  sympathy  I  have  with 
such  owes  much  to  her. 

"  When  Mrs.  Mateer  was  on  her  death-bed,  I 
went  to  her  room  for  a  final  leave-taking  of  my 
dear  teacher.  As  I  knelt  to  pray  by  her  side,  I 
was  overcome  with  grief.  Before  I  left  she  took 
my  hand  in  hers  and  said,  *  I  am  going  to  heaven 
first,  and  shall  wait  for  you.  I  hope  you  will 
lead  a  great  many  people  to  heaven.*  These 
words  sank  deep  into  my  heart,  and  they  are  a 
great  stimulus  to  me  in  my  work  of  soul-saving  " 

At  present  Evangelist  Ting  is  going  about 
among  the  schools  and  colleges  of  China,  holding 
revival  meetings  and  enlisting  volunteers  for  the 
work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  He  is  commonly 
recognized  as  China's  leading  evangelist.  But 
Mr.  Ting  is  not  the  only  one  marvellously  changed 
and  made  mighty  for  God  in  evangelistic  work  ; 
for    in    Hke   manner,    through   the   influence   of 


90     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

another  great-hearted,  deeply  pious,  and  earnest 
Christian  woman,  the  late  Dr.  Li,  who  was 
formerly  a  medical  student  in  the  government 
school  in  Tientsin,  became  a  prominent  evangelist 
in  Central  China.  Such  men  are  the  "  potency 
and  promise  "  of  the  great  things  that  are  going 
to  make  the  world  wonder  and  the  angels  rejoice, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  demonstrate  the 
supreme  influence  cultured  Christian  women 
may  have  in  moulding  the  students  of  China. 

Of  the  graduates  of  Tengchow  College  who 
have  gone  into  business,  Liu  Shu  San  is  a  good 
example.  As  a  little  boy  out  of  a  poor  family, 
he  entered  the  Presbyterian  Academy  at  Chefoo, 
and  later  went  to  Tengchow.  After  graduation 
he  taught  in  the  Chefoo  Academy.  His  salary 
was  not  high,  but  by  strict  economy  he  managed 
to  lay  by  money  with  which  he  bought  land, 
building  small  houses  upon  it.  At  that  time 
there  was  a  *'  boom  "  in  Chefoo,  and  he,  being 
wise  in  his  investments,  accumulated  consider- 
able property.  Later  when  T'singtau  was  opened 
by  the  Germans,  and  a  railroad  put  across  the 
province,  he  saw  that  T'singtau  was  the  coming 
place,  and  at  an  early  date  transferred  his  invest- 
ments there,  where  he  is  now  a  prosperous  real 
estate  man.  He  is  prominent  in  business  circles 
and  by  his  exemplary  Christian  life  is  a  power 
for  good.  In  various  ways  he  is  advancing  the 
Christian  cause.     Out  of  his  income  he  has  con- 


LIU   SHU   SAX 


FRUIT  GATHERING  91 

tributed  to  the  college  the  full  amount  of  his  own 
board  and  incidental  expenses.  Towards  the 
building  of  the  new  church  at  Chefoo  he  was  a 
prominent  contributor.  In  T'singtau  he  himself 
managed  the  building  of  the  church  and  parson- 
age, contributing  largely  to  them.  He  was 
much  distressed  at  seeing  the  boys  from  the 
country  falling  into  sin  on  coming  to  the  port,  so 
took  the  lead  in  organizing  a  Y.  M.  C.  A  ,  and  is  now 
himself  paying  the  whole  salary  of  the  secretary. 
He  is  also  very  liberal  in  helping  many  needy 
persons  both  inside  the  church  and  out.  A  part 
of  his  prosperity  is  due  to  his  great  trustworthi- 
ness of  character,  on  the  strength  of  which  he 
was  able  to  borrow  money  at  low  rate  of  interest 
in  the  beginning  of  the  *'  boom "  at  T'singtau 
and  so  realize  handsomely  on  his  investments. 

But  although  many  have  thus  been  engaged 
in  evangelistic  and  pastoral  work,  and  a  few  have 
gone  into  business,  most  of  the  Tengchow  grad- 
uates have  become  professors  in  Christian  and 
government  schools  in  many  provinces  of  China. 
Four  of  them  are  now  in  chief  charge  of  the  gov- 
ernment schools  in  Yuinnan,  the  most  southwest 
of  the  eighteen  provinces.  As  the  hope  of 
China's  education  must  be  in  Christian  teachers, 
it  is  desirable  that  many  be  prepared  in  schools 
similar  to  Tengchow,  and  employed  by  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  new  education.  Such  positions 
bring  what  in  China  are  large  salaries,  attended 


92     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

by  great  temptations.  Therefore  students  must 
have  much  personal  attention  by  consecrated 
workers  or  they  will  not  stand  the  strain. 

There  follows  here  one  of  many  life  stories  of 
Chinese  professors  that  might  be  given,  illustrat- 
ing the  power  of  Mrs.  Mateer's  life  and  personal 
touch. 

Sung  Fu  Wei's  mother  had  been  left  mother- 
less in  her  childhood  and  thus  suffered  the 
greatest  calamity  that  can  befall  a  Chinese  girl, 
she  had  no  one  to  teach  her  to  bind  her  feet  I  In 
fact,  like  Topsy,  she  just  **  growed  "  and  was  all 
her  life  an  unmistakable  representative  of  the 
"  great  unwashed."  His  father  was  a  man  of 
weak  character  and  addicted  to  gambling.  When 
Sung  Fu  Wei  was  a  lad  of  twelve,  he  and  his 
mother  first  heard  the  Gospel  preached  in  their 
village,  and  heard  it  gladly.  He  soon  entered 
the  Tengchow  school.  Years  afterwards  when 
one  of  his  pupils  read  an  essay  upon  good  com- 
ing out  of  evil,  Mr.  Sung  said,  "Yes,  God  can 
bring  good  out  of  even  such  an  evil  as  gambling. 
It  was  gambling  that  sent  me  to  school.  My 
father  gambled  and  my  mother  was  so  afraid  I 
would  learn  it  that  when  she  heard  of  this  school 
she  gave  my  father  no  rest  until  he  brought  me 
here."  His  talents  and  diligence  soon  raised 
him  to  the  head  of  his  class  and  endeared  him  to 
his  teachers.  When  examined  for  admission  to 
the  church  and  asked  why  he  became  a  Christian, 


SUNG   FU   WEI   AND   FAMILY 


FRUIT  GATHERING  93 

he  replied,  "  Because  Jesus  has  loved  me  so  much 
as  to  die  for  me." 

Two  years  after  graduation  he  returned  to 
Tengchow  and  was  made  professor  of  mathemat- 
ics, teaching  trigonometry,  surveying,  navigation, 
analytical  geometry  and  calculus,  and  teaching 
them  well.  He  was  Dr.  Mateer's  most  efficient 
helper  in  preparing  his  mathematical  series  for 
the  press,  being  not  only  well  versed  in  the  sub- 
ject as  taught  in  western  lands,  but  having  be- 
stowed much  labor  on  the  Chinese  mathematical 
works. 

Mr.  Sung  was  not  more  distinguished  for  his 
talents  and  attainments  than  for  his  good  judg- 
ment, his  faithfulness  as  a  teacher,  his  earnest 
piety,  and  the  real  missionary  spirit  in  all  his 
work.  When  only  twenty-three  years  old  he  was 
elected  an  elder  in  the  church  and  maintained  in 
high  degree  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all. 
He  often  led  the  weekly  prayer-meeting,  and  in 
the  absence  of  his  pastor  sometimes  led  the  Sun- 
day services.  His  addresses  and  sermons  were 
always  clear,  logical,  Scriptural  and  helpful,  and 
showed  a  deep  work  of  grace  in  his  heart. 

Notwithstanding  his  ability  he  was  quiet  and 
unassuming.  He  once  told  his  pupils  how  very 
large  he  felt  when  as  a  lad  he  went  home  for  a 
vacation  after  passing  his  first  examination  in 
arithmetic.  Said  he :  **  AH  my  friends  were 
wondering  at  my  knowledge  of  mathematics,  and 


94     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

I  thought  myself  about  the  wisest  man  in  the 
country.  Here  I  have  been  studying  and  teach- 
ing mathematics  ever  since,  and  only  learn  better 
every  year  how  much  there  is  I  do  not  know  " 

He  valued  highly  his  school  privileges.  He 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  Christian  boarding 
schools  in  heathen  lands  advance  the  cause  of 
Christ  by  at  least  three  or  four  generations ; 
first,  by  raising  up  reliable  men  and  women  as 
helpers  in  building  up  the  church,  and  second, 
by  setting  an  example  of  the  Christian  training 
of  children.  Said  he,  ''  It  is  not  enough  that  we 
see  how  the  missionaries  train  their  children  ; 
we  need  to  see  the  effects  of  Christian  training 
on  Chinese  children." 

After  all,  the  most  admirable  trait  in  Mr.  Sung's 
character  was  his  patient  endurance  of  trials  such 
as  fall  to  the  lot  of  few  men.  His  mother's  un- 
tidy house  and  peculiar  ways  were  always  a 
source  of  mortification  to  him,  and  her  years  of 
ill  health  a  cause  of  constant  anxiety ;  but  he 
had  the  comfort  of  seeing  in  her  much  evidence 
that  she  was  a  child  of  God.  His  father  was 
for  years  halting  between  the  church  and  the 
gambling  table,  at  which  he  finally  wasted  the 
whole  of  his  little  property.  He  had  reformed 
and  fallen  so  often  that  when  he  died  after  a 
year  and  a  half  of  good  behavior  and  apparently 
sincere  repentance,  his  son  could  not  but  feel  a 
deep  and  grateful  sense  of  relief.     Notwithstand- 


FRUIT  GATHERING  95 

ing  their  faults,  Mr.  Sung's  conduct  towards  his 
parents  and  his  words  about  them  always  ex- 
emplified the  spirit  of  the  command,  "  Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother." 

While  yet  a  schoolboy,  he  brought  his  only 
sister  to  school  and  provided  her  clothing.  Be- 
sides carrying  on  his  own  studies,  he  earned  the 
money  to  do  this  and  also  to  clothe  himself,  by 
teaching  algebra  and  geometry  in  the  Baptist 
school.  Shortly  after  graduation  he  married  a 
Christian  Chinese  girl  of  great  personal  attrac- 
tions. Her  health  soon  became  seriously  im- 
paired and  she  continued  to  be  a  great  sufierer. 
This  was  blessed  to  her  growth  in  some  graces, 
but  made  her  irritable  and  exacting,  and  she  was 
always  selfish  and  extravagant.  Her  husband's 
income  never  exceeded  seventy  dollars  a  year. 
On  her  account  he  denied  himself  everything  but 
the  barest  necessities  of  life.  He  never  neglected 
his  wife  for  his  work,  and  he  never  neglected  his 
work  for  his  wife,  but  spent  himself  freely  for 
both.  His  mind  was  always  busy  with  work  or 
plans  for  his  pupils  or  in  self-improvement  for 
their  sakes,  and  his  heart  always  burdened  with 
solicitude  for  his  poor  wife  and  sympathy  with 
her  sufferings,  which  the  most  assiduous  medical 
attention  failed  to  remove  ;  she  was  neither  brave 
nor  thoughtful  enough  to  conceal  what  he  was 
powerless  to  relieve. 

No  one  ever  heard  him  complain  of  his  bur- 


96     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

dens  or  saw  him  shed  tears  over  his  own  griefs. 
He  had  tears  for  others'  sorrows  but  not  for  his 
own.  When,  during  a  very  unhealthy  season, 
he  was  smitten  by  dysentery,  that  deadly  foe  to 
human  life  in  Tengchow,  he  trusted  to  his  vigor- 
ous constitution,  which  had  never  before  known 
a  severe  illness,  to  throw  it  off.  True  to  his  in- 
stincts he  was  too  busy  for  others  to  take  thought 
of  himself  till  the  disease  had  taken  such  a  hold 
on  him  that  the  most  careful  attention  of  his 
physician  and  care  of  his  friends  availed  nothing 
to  check  its  course.  One  short,  sharp  conflict, 
and  his  toils  and  trials  were  ended  forever.  The 
good  and  faithful  servant  entered  into  the  joy  of 
his  Lord. 

Dr.  Mills,  his  pastor,  says  in  connection  with 
his  death :  *'  In  some  of  the  highest  manifesta- 
tions of  mental  power,  the  Chinese  are  fully  our 
equals.  When  thoroughly  controlled  by  Chris- 
tian principle  they  are  quite  as  disinterested  as 
we  are.  Unemotional  as  they  seem  to  us,  they 
are  capable  of  the  rarest  self-sacrifice."  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  Christianity  could  bestow 
within  the  compass  of  a  single  life,  and  that  the 
first  generation  removed  from  heathenism,  not 
only  such  Christlike  character,  but  the  changed, 
considerate,  and  even  chivalrous  attitude  towards 
mother  and  sister  and  delicate  wife,  which  is 
among  the  finest  fruits  of  Christian  civilization. 


VIII 
MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE 

A  GREAT  deal  of  medical  work  devolved 
upon  Mrs.  Mateer.  This  was  pardy  an 
unwelcome  necessity.  There  were  many 
years  when  the  station  had  no  missionary  doctor 
and  the  Chinese  doctors  were  little  better  than 
none.  Those  who  live  in  Christian  countries  fail 
to  appreciate  that  everything  worth  while  in  their 
civilization  is  a  by-product  of  the  Gospel.  In 
heathen  countries,  there  is  no  relief  even  from 
toothache.  One  missionary  was  in  the  habit  of 
pulling  a  lot  of  teeth  upon  entering  a  village 
and  thus  getting  the  people  in  good  humor  for 
the  hearing  of  the  Gospel. 

Mrs.  Mateer's  Christian  sympathies  could  not 
resist  the  many  appeals  for  relief  from  suffering. 
She  came  to  consider  what  she  did  in  this  way  as 
an  effective  means  for  influencing  people  in  a 
spiritual  way.  Mrs.  Fanny  Corbett  Hays  says  : 
"  Never  lived  a  missionary  who  more  lovingly 
and  conscientiously  entered  into  the  details  of  the 
common  daily  life  of  the  people  who  pressed 
upon  her.  Who  that  has  seen  her,  as  she  every 
morning  met  the  ailing  and  sick  students  in  her 
little  medicine  closet  under  the  stairs,  can  ever 

97 


98     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

forget  the  sight  ?  She  hacl  great  skill  in  diag- 
nosing and  treating  the  simple  ailments  of  the 
boys,  who  came  on  an  average  of  ten  a  day,  and 
she  prevented  many  a  serious  illness  by  her 
timely  remedies.  But  she  told  me  that  she  did 
not  reach  her  highest  purpose  in  her  little  dis- 
pensary when  she  cured  the  diseases  of  the  body, 
being  more  concerned  to  treat  the  homesick  boy, 
to  detect  sorrow  and  repentance,  and  to  give 
medicine  for  the  soul." 

In  the  long  and  severe  illnesses  of  the  students, 
she  prescribed  for  and  nursed  them  with  all  the 
tender  care  of  a  mother.  She  prepared  their 
food  and  saw  that  it  was  given  at  the  proper  time. 
She  was  never  too  weary  nor  the  hour  too  late  to 
see  a  sick  pupil.  A  former  Tengchow  boy  writes 
as  follows : 

"  Whenever  I  was  sick,  Mrs.  Mateer  spent 
much  time  and  heart  upon  me.  After  graduation 
I  went  to  a  distant  place  leaving  my  wife  and 
son  at  Tengchow.  When  the  cholera  was 
raging  there  an  old  man  who  lived  in  the  same 
yard  with  my  family  had  one  day  buried  twenty 
cholera  victims.  When  he  came  home  in  the 
evening  my  wife  prepared  him  some  food.  My 
son  took  the  cholera  from  him.  His  mother  was 
in  great  distress  and  sent  the  old  man  for  Mrs 
Mateer.  She  and  Dr.  Mateer  were  at  prayers, 
just  before  retiring.  She  came  quickly  and 
worked   all   night   with  the  boy.     In  the  early 


MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE    99 

dawn  he  was  better  and  gradually  recovered. 
Recently  he  has  passed  successfully  the  examina- 
tion for  students  going  to  America  at  govern- 
ment expense.  Such  kindness  we  can  never 
forget."  (This  he  wrote  with  tears  streaming 
down  his  face.) 

"  Mrs.  Mateer  had  this  same  interest  in  all  her 
boys.  Whenever  any  one  was  absent  from 
prayer-meeting  or  church  she  was  concerned  lest 
he  might  be  sick  and  went  at  once  to  see.  She 
cared  also  for  the  sick  and  the  poor  not  only 
among  the  Christians,  but  the  non-Christians  as 
well.  My  wife  in  going  around  preaching  found 
an  old  couple  in  dire  distress  with  no  one  to  care 
for  them.  When  Mrs.  Mateer  heard  of  them  she 
gave  them  a  thousand  cash,  bought  a  coat  for 
the  old  man  and  some  grain.  Later  she  gave 
them  money  to  use  as  capital  in  buying  grain  to 
grind  and  sell  so  that  they  might  help  themselves. 
When  another  old  man  who  sold  sweet  potatoes 
had  a  serious  sore  on  his  leg,  Mrs.  Mateer  re- 
peatedly gave  him  medicine  and  money.  These 
are  but  a  few  of  her  manifold  kindnesses." 

Below  is  given  a  single  instance  of  her  expe- 
riences in  the  medical  work.  She  says :  *'  This 
morning  a  little  boy,  to  whom  I  gave  some  eye- 
water a  few  days  ago  and  who  evidently  consid- 
ered that  a  sufficient  introduction,  came  to  the 
door.  His  hair  was  neady  brushed  and  his  hands 
and  clothes  were  clean.     He  was  sent,  he  said, 


lOO    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

to  ask  the  lady  to  go  see  a  sick  person  in  the 
west  suburb.  I  decided  at  once  to  go,  as  it  is  a 
neighborhood  to  which  we  have  not  hitherto  had 
access.  I  found  the  patient  to  be  a  young  woman 
suffering  from  scrofula.  The  neighbors  soon  be- 
gan crowding  in  so  that  not  only  the  house  but 
the  court  was  filled,  and  numerous  were  the  ap- 
plications for  medicine. 

"  After  disposing  of  such  cases  as  well  as  I 
could,  I  began  to  preach  or  talk  *  doctrine,'  as  we 
say  here.  I  began  about  the  Heavenly  Ruler, 
whom  they  worship  once  every  year,  and  who  is 
the  true  God  as  far  as  they  have  retained  any 
knowledge  of  Him  ;  but  I  failed  to  secure  any 
one's  attention.  Then  I  began  about  the  soul, 
by  asking  what  becomes  of  it  after  death,  but  with 
no  better  success,  though  they  are  usually  curious 
on  this  point.  I  also  tried  the  story  of  our  first 
parents,  and  the  worship  of  idols,  but  still  without 
any  success,  though  I  have  scarcely  ever  before 
known  a  case  where  one  or  the  other  of  the  last 
two  subjects  would  not  for  a  while,  at  least,  se- 
cure attention.  No  one  would  listen  to  anything 
but  my  answers  to  their  numerous  questions 
about  the  '  foreign  country,'  as  every  place  out- 
side of  China  is  called.  I  left,  gready  discour- 
aged by  the  fruitlessness  of  my  visit,  but  with  a 
silent  prayer  that  after  all  it  might  not  be  quite 
in  vain. 

*'  I  had  not  gone  far,  when  I  heard  some  one 


MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE    loi 

call,  and  looking  back  saw  an  elderly  woman 
follow  me.  She  said  she  wanted  to  ask  about 
the  true  God  and  how  to  worship  Him.  We  sat 
down  by  a  well.  I  remembered  how  my  Saviour 
had  '  sat  by  the  well '  and  talked  of  the  *  water  of 
life.'  She  told  me  much  that  she  had  heard  from 
Mrs.  Crawford  of  the  Baptist  Mission,  and  then, 
folding  her  hands  and  bowing  her  head,  she  re- 
peated what  she  could  remember  of  a  little  prayer. 
She  added,  *  I  am  an  old  woman  and  have  time 
to  learn  of  this  "  doctrine,"  and  I  think  if  there  is 
any  way  for  my  soul  to  go  to  heaven  when  I  die, 
it  will  be  a  very  good  thing,  so  I  wish  to  learn 
it.  Unfortunately,  I  have  forgotten  much  that 
Mrs.  Crawford  told  me.  If  you  will  just  write 
out  some  directions  for  me,  and  a  prayer,  then  I 
could  get  some  one  to  read  to  me  when  I  forget.* 
Her  idea  evidently  was  that  there  were  certain 
things  for  her  to  do,  and  a  prayer  she  must  repeat 
a  certain  number  of  times,  and  she  would  be 
saved.  Great  as  her  mistake  was,  I  was  delighted 
to  find  a  woman  who  having  heard  only  once 
knew  even  this  much,  and  cared  to  know  more. 
I  explained  to  her  something  of  the  nature  of 
prayer,  and  of  our  obligations  to  God,  and  prom- 
ised her  a  written  prayer  and  a  book.  She  prom- 
ised to  come  to  see  me  soon  and  bring  her  sister 
with  her. 

"While    we    were    talking,    a   ragged,    dirty 
woman,  carrying   a   sick   child,  came   out  and 


I02     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

begged  me  to  go  to  a  house  near  by  where  all 
the  family  were  sick  of  typhoid  fever.  They 
had  neither  food  nor  medicine  and  no  money. 
They  lived  in  an  old  stone  hut  which  stands  in  a 
miserably  dirty  court,  its  clay  floor  being  more 
than  a  foot  lower  than  the  ground  outside  and  its 
walls  and  ceiling  blackened  by  the  smoke  of 
many  years.  The  one  door  was  broken  ofF  its 
hinges  and  lay  in  the  court. 

"  Making  my  way  through  the  dirt  and  rub- 
bish of  the  outer  room,  I  looked  into  the  sick- 
room. Oh,  what  a  sight !  On  their  kang  (brick 
bed),  about  seven  feet  long  by  three  wide,  lay  a 
man,  his  wife,  two  boys  nine  and  eleven  years 
old,  all  in  a  high  fever,  and  an  infant  two  days 
old.  There  they  had  lain  for  days,  in  mid- 
summer. The  single  small  window  was  papered 
so  as  to  exclude  every  particle  of  air  and  light. 
The  woman  was  in  great  distress  and  somewhat 
dehrious.  A  miserable  beggar  woman,  hired  for 
about  two  cents  a  day,  was  the  only  person  who 
went  near  them.  I  asked  if  there  were  no 
neighbors  who  would  take  the  baby  home  and 
care  for  it  until  the  mother  was  able  to  do  so. 
The  man  answered  with  an  astonished  look, 
*  We  have  no  such  custom  ! ' 

"I  could  not  restrain  my  indignation  that, 
among  a  people  who  pretend  to  such  high 
civilization,  no  one  could  be  found  to  show  kind- 
ness to  people  in  such  distress,  because  they  were 


MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE     103 

of  the  lowest  and  poorest  class.  In  all  this  great 
city  and  among  many  relatives,  neighbors  and 
friends,  they  had  none.  I  hurried  home  to  pro- 
cure some  food  and  medicine  which  I  sent  them ; 
and  this  evening  the  mother  is  quietly  sleeping, 
and  the  others  less  miserable. 

**  When  starting  home  my  tidy  friend  of  the 
morning  came  running  after  me,  and  insisted  on 
escorting  me  home.  He  had  divested  himself 
of  every  stitch  of  clothing,  and  though  his  hands 
and  face  were  still  not  very  dirty,  it  must  have  been 
months  since  the  rest  of  him  was  in  clean  water. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  declined  his 
ofTer."  Throughout  the  years  such  experiences 
as  the  above  were  of  common  occurrence. 

Mrs.  Mateer's  medical  work  during  the  famine 
of  1878  was  somewhat  special.  ''Since  the 
spring  opened  we  have  been  much  occupied  with 
the  famine  sufferers.  No  day  passes  without 
calls  for  food  and  medicine,  and  some  days  are 
entirely  filled  with  the  work.  I  began  to  keep  a 
list  of  the  principal  cases  but  stopped  at  the 
fourteenth  of  regular  typhoid  fever.  It  was  too 
much  trouble  to  keep  the  record.  I  suppose  that 
at  least  sixty  fever  cases  owe  to  me  all  the  medicine 
they  got,  and  to  my  directions  all  the  nursing. 
One  of  the  first  symptoms  in  every  case  was 
nausea,  and  usually  the  preparatory  medicine 
required  was  a  dose  of  santonin,  with  oil  and 
lard    and    laudanum.     This   involved   not   only 


I04    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

measuring  out  the  medicine,  but  finding  a 
cup  to  put  it  in,  securing  its  return,  making  a 
mustard  plaster  to  keep  the  medicine  down  till  it 
had  time  to  take  effect,  providing  disinfectants 
and  seeing  that  they  were  used,  sending  food  for 
the  patient  and  fuel  with  which  to  cook  it. 

**  One  man  came  with  two  dreadful  sores. 
They  had  opened  and  should  have  been  discharg- 
ing freely,  but  according  to  their  custom  he  had 
plastered  them  over  with  a  stiff,  sticky  plaster  and 
was  suffering  intensely.  I  gave  him  a  basin  of 
warm  water  and  a  sponge  with  which  he  suc- 
ceeded in  about  half  an  hour  in  getting  them  rea- 
sonably cleaned  off,  revealing  four  great  patches 
of  proud  flesh.  I  poulticed  wdth  bread  and  told 
the  man  he  must  change  the  poultice  in  the  even- 
ing. Fearing  he  would  not  do  so  I  offered  him 
the  bread.  He  said  he  was  sleeping  with  a  friend 
and  had  not  the  face  to  have  anything  done  for 
him.  Said  I,  '  You  have  not  the  face  to  ask  your 
friend  to  make  a  poultice,  but  you  can  come  here 
and  ask  the  '*  foreign  devils  '^  for  anything  you 
want  ? '  *  Exactly  so,'  said  he,  with  the  utmost 
simplicity.  Said  I,  *Come  back  this  evening 
and  I  will  make  you  fresh  poultices.'  In  two 
days  he  was  sufficiently  relieved  to  go  to  Chefoo 
to  a  physician. 

"  Tso  Li  Wen,  our  new  teacher,  plays  surgeon 
for  me  and  when  we  both  get  beyond  our  depth, 
we  call  on  Mr.  Mateer  to  help  us  out.     Of  my 


^H 


-— _^_;____^ 


MRS.    LI 


MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE     105 

fever  patients,  one  old  woman  and  one  little  girl 
died.  One  man  brought  a  basket  of  eggs  and 
cherries  to  express  his  gratitude.  Another  way- 
laid me  in  the  street,  as  I  came  from  prayer-meet- 
ing one  dark  night,  to  thank  me.  The  women 
have  been  profuse  in  their  thanks.  If  I  were  a 
physician,  perhaps  I  should  find  pleasure  in  this 
work,  but  of  all  things  I  do  dislike  to  give 
medicine.  I  do  not  like  to  handle  it,  and  as  I 
can  rarely  feel  very  sure  I  am  doing  the  best 
thing,  it  worries  me  exceedingly.  Sometimes  I 
am  so  thankful  we  can  relieve  these  poor  suf- 
ferers, and  sometimes  I  wish  we  never  had  the 
means  of  giving  a  single  dose,  because  then  I 
could  turn  away  all  such  cases  with  a  clear 
conscience.  This  is  my  plea  for  the  woman 
physician  who  is  to  be  sent  out  this  autumn." 

Mrs.  Mateer's  experience  emphasizes  the  pre- 
cious results  to  be  obtained  from  seeing  that 
patients  treated  are  followed  up  in  a  spiritual 
way  after  their  return  home.  The  story  of  Mrs. 
Li,  a  most  intelligent  and  interesting  old  woman, 
may  be  given  to  illustrate  how  faithfully  she 
herself  sought  to  take  advantage  of  interest 
awakened  through  the  medical  work. 

"  Mrs.  Li  first  came  here  one  Sabbath  morning 
to  see  whether  we  could  do  anything  for  her 
daughter  whose  arm  and  hand  had  been  dread- 
fully scalded.  The  daughter  lived  with  the 
mother-in-law,  who  was  very  unkind  to  her.    She 


io6     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

was  subject  to  fits  of  hysteria,  and  in  one  of 
these  she  had  fallen  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  rice. 
Mr.  Mateer  made  up  a  wash  and  gave  to  her, 
although  he  had  very  little  hope  of  being  able 
to  effect  a  cure.  Soon  after  this,  the  mother 
took  her  daughter  home  to  herself,  and  I  went 
to  see  her.  She  had  used  the  wash  most  faith- 
fully and  in  a  few  days  more  allowed  Mr.  Mateer 
to  go  once  to  see  her.  He  afterwards  made  her 
an  ointment  which  I  took  her,  showing  her  how 
to  wash  and  dress  the  hand.  She  followed  direc- 
tions very  carefully,  and  in  two  months  was  quite 
well.  They  were  grateful  to  us,  and  as  the  best 
expression  they  could  give  of  their  gratitude, 
according  to  native  custom,  the  young  woman 
wished  to  be  my  adopted  daughter — not  Mr. 
Mateer's,  that  would  have  been  immodest. 

**  Both  Mrs.  Holmes  and  I  felt  a  deep  interest 
in  the  old  woman  from  the  first,  and  were  anx- 
ious to  arouse  her  to  the  importance  of  the 
doctrines  we  teach ;  but  suddenly  she  ceased  to 
come,  and  we  feared  we  had  lost  all  trace  of  her. 
After  three  months  she  appeared  again,  saying 
that  they  had  moved  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
city,  that  they  had  not  forgotten  us,  but  she  had 
been  ill,  and  her  daughter  was  too  young  (about 
thirty)  to  be  seen  on  the  streets  alone.  She 
made  a  long  visit,  listened  very  attentively  to  all 
I  told  her,  and  quite  encouraged  me  by  saying 
she  had  never  gone  to  the  temples  to  pray  for 


MEDICAL  WORK  AND  INFLUENCE     107 

her  daughter  since  Mrs.  Holmes  told  her  those 
were  all  false  gods.  Instead,  she  had  prayed 
every  day  to  the  true  God  of  whom  we  had  told 
her.  All  her  prayer,  however,  had  been  for  her 
daughter's  recovery.  She  was  very  self-right- 
eous, was  sure  she  loved  God  and  would  keep 
His  law,  and  promised  at  once  to  observe  the 
Sabbath.  I  explained  to  her  most  of  the  com- 
mandments, and  she  left  us,  sure  of  working  out 
her  own  salvation.  She  and  her  daughter-in- 
law,  who  lives  with  her,  are  poor,  earning  their 
living  by  sewing,  and  it  means  genuine  sacrifice 
that  they  both  keep  the  Sabbath. 

"Afterwards  Mrs.  Li  began  to  come  Sunday 
afternoons  for  instruction,  and  she  was  seldom 
absent.  She  would  not  consent  to  go  in  the 
morning  to  the  chapel,  because  some  relative  of 
her  deceased  husband  lived  near,  whom  Chinese 
custom  says  she  must  never  allow^  to  see  her. 
She  reads  the  Mandarin  pretty  well,  has  several 
books  which  she  says  she  reads  every  day,  pray- 
ing morning  and  evening  and  trying  to  teach 
her  children  as  much  as  she  can.  1  cannot  go 
to  see  her  where  she  now  lives  because  the  land- 
lord will  not  allow  foreigners  to  visit  her.  Some- 
times after  a  long  conversation  I  hope  she  has 
indeed  passed  from  death  unto  life ;  at  other 
times,  I  am  afraid  she  has  not  the  root  of  the 
matter  in  her. 

"  It  has  been  most  interesting  to  see  her  self- 


io8     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

confidence  giving  way.  The  process  has  been  a 
very  gradual  one.  Sometimes  I  feared  she  was 
making  no  progress,  but  on  looking  back  several 
weeks  there  was  evident  change.  The  matter  of 
forgiving  her  daughter's  mother-in-law  was  very 
difficult.  When  I  told  her  she  must  do  this,  she 
said,  *  No,  I  will  not.'  I  referred  her  to  Christ's 
example,  but  she  answered,  *  Ah,  yes  !  He  was 
God,  and  I  am  not.'  However,  at  last  she  was 
convinced  it  was  her  duty  to  forgive  and  pray 
for  her,  and  she  has  manifested  since  quite  a 
different  disposition  towards  her. 

"  I  have  not  had  my  sympathies  so  thoroughly 
enlisted  for  any  other  Chinese  woman  ;  indeed,  I 
have  not  met  among  the  Chinese  women  any 
other  so  intelligent,  or  so  interesting  a  character." 

This  old  lady,  Mrs.  Li,  became  a  devoted 
Christian,  and  was  faithful  to  the  end.  Not  long 
before  Mrs.  Mateer's  death,  she  passed  away  at 
the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty  years. 


IX 

ITINERATING 

MRS.  MATEER  itinerated  extensively 
and  persistently.  She  accompanied 
her  husband  on  most  of  his  itiner- 
ating tours  and  also  took  many  trips  alone,  or 
in  company  with  other  women  of  the  station, 
going  to  distances  ranging  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  spending  in  time 
from  two  weeks  to  three  months.  She  travelled 
a  great  deal  on  donkeys  on  a  Chinese  pack- 
saddle.  She  took  at  least  one  tour  each  year 
until  the  last  year,  and  frequently  two  or  more. 
She  visited,  in  this  way,  the  homes  of  all  the 
Chinese  Christians  connected  with  Tengchow 
station,  and  many  connected  with  Chefoo  and 
Weihsien,  exhorting,  teaching,  and  praying  with 
the  women  and  children.  She  made  a  special 
point  of  visiting  the  homes  of  her  pupils,  older 
and  younger,  and  no  pupil  even  from  a  heathen 
home  ever  failed  to  make  a  warm  welcome  for 
her  from  his  father  and  mother. 

She  dearly  loved  to  preach  the  Gospel.  A 
visiting  friend  says :  '*  One  evening  Dr.  Mateer 
and  I  went  into  the  parlor  after  an  intelligent 
Chinese  who  had  been  with  her  several  hours 

109 


no    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

had  departed.  Mrs.  Mateer  was  sitting  in  a  large 
chair  with  her  face  shining  with  the  Ught  of  God. 
Its  radiance  startled  me,  as  she  put  her  hands  up 
and  pushed  the  hair  back  from  her  temples  saying, 
'  Oh,  I  do  love  to  preach  ! '  Her  husband  looked 
at  her  with  a  tender,  comprehending  smile,  as  she 
added,  *  I  wish  I  could  devote  my  whole  time  to 
preaching.  I  have  so  many  cares  and  have  to  do 
so  many  other  things,  when  I  would  so  much 
rather  preach.' " 

This  passion,  together  with  her  loving  sym- 
pathy and  concern  for  heathen  women  and  girls, 
often  led  her  out  to  the  country.  We  read  :  "  I 
did  not  know  what  a  blessed  hope  we  had  until 
I  saw  these  Chinese  women  mourning  for  their 
dead.  They  follow  the  bier  along  the  street, 
mourning  and  crying,  *  My  father,  my  father  I ' 
or  '  My  mother,  my  mother !  I  shall  never  see 
your  face  again  ! '  What  a  heartrending  cry  it 
is !  And  it  is  heard  in  thousands  of  places  in 
this  great  land  every  day,  and  has  been  for  all 
these  centuries.  One  would  think  that  even 
Satan  himself  might  be  satisfied,  and  cease  to 
blind  and  deceive  these  people.  Oh,  that  the 
whole  Church  would  arise  with  one  heart  and  one 
voice  and  call  upon  God  for  such  an  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  God's  people  as  would 
give  the  Gospel  to  every  village  in  China  !  " 

"  I  have  just  met  a  young  woman,  one  among 
many,  who  for  the  future  desired  only  one  thing, 


ITINERATING  iii 

to  transmigrate  at  the  next  birth  into  a  man. 
The  mental  darkness  and  degradation  of  these 
women  impresses  and  oppresses  me  more  and 
more  every  year.  The  little  child  kuov/s  nothing, 
yet  it  can  learn,  and  every  year  the  prospect  grows 
more  hopeful ;  these  women  know  nothing  and 
their  minds  are  weighted  down  by  solid  darkness 
heavier  than  a  stone,  and  every  year  the  prospect 
of  any  mental  improvement  grows  more  desperate. 
Sometimes  it  seems  to  me  that  the  most  fearful  of 
the  adjectives  applied  to  the  great  prison  of  lost 
beings  is  *  dark,* — '  outer-utter  darkness.*  If 
these  women  could  gather  here  as  the  men  do, 
it  would  make  lighter  work  for  us  and  we  could 
do  them  more  good  ;  but  they  are  almost  all  very 
poor,  and  have  no  way  of  travelling  except  on 
foot,  and  we  cannot  expect  women  to  walk  fifty 
or  one  hundred  miles  on  their  little,  crippled 
feet.  One  did  walk  one  hundred  miles  in  cold 
weather,  and  another  walked  fifty,  and  waded  a 
river  up  to  her  arm  pits,  in  coming  here  to 
learn  the  *  doctrine.'  But  not  many  have  either 
the  strength  or  resolution  to  do  that,  and  fewer 
still  are  so  situated  that  they  could  leave  their 
families  for  a  month  or  six  weeks,  and  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  travel  this  distance  for  less  time." 
Another  reason  that  led  her  into  the  country 
was  her  special  interest  in  the  homes  and  com- 
munities of  the  schoolboys,  of  which  she  had  often 
heard  through  them  as  desiring  her  to  visit  them. 


.112     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

Much  concerning  these  visits  might  be  recorded. 
For  example,  she  says  :  "  While  sitting  on  my 
feet  to  keep  them  warm  and  writing  on  my  knee, 
Mrs.  Yang  came  in  and  sat  in  silence  a  little 
while.  Then  she  said,  '  Tell  me,  Mrs.  Mateer, 
what  is  the  reason  my  son  would  not  burn  incense 
or  paper  when  he  came  home  at  the  New  Year  ?  ' 
*  There,*  said  I,  *  your  son  has  gone  to  work  for 
the  foreigners  and  has  gotten  spoiled.'  She 
went  on,  '  We  could  not  make  him  burn  any- 
thing. He  preached  to  everybody  who  came, 
but  I  did  not  understand  anything  they  said. 
His  friends  sent  him  wine,  but  he  would  not  drink 
it.  He  used  to  play  cards,  but  he  would  not 
touch  them.  He  would  not  burn  anything  ;  but 
he  is  a  better  son  than  formerly.  His  father  was 
very  angry.  Tell  me  what  it  all  means.'  I  told 
her,  and  she  understood  very  well  and  said  she 
hoped  her  son  would  hold  on." 

Furthermore  Mrs.  Mateer  went  to  the  country 
often  from  health  considerations.  The  cares 
and  confinement  of  home,  together  with  those  of 
the  school,  at  times  exhausted  her  strength, 
whereas  the  change  and  exhilaration  of  a  country 
trip  were  calculated  to  build  her  up.  She  pre- 
ferred this  to  the  vacations  and  excursion  trips 
for  pleasure  only,  as  affording  the  benefit  of  a 
change  while  giving  the  satisfaction  of  doing 
good,  and  at  the  same  time  occupying  her  so 
that  she  kept  from  getting  so  desperately  home- 


ITINERATING  113 

sick  for  her  husband  and  the  schoolboys.  She 
says :  "  For  rough  as  the  work  is,  in  many 
respects,  it  is  a  rest  from  the  care  and  anxiety 
inseparable  from  the  school  work  ;  and  I  live  so 
much  in  the  open  air,  and  eat  and  sleep  so  well, 
that  I  always  come  back  stronger,  and  my  home 
seems  so  clean  and  attractive." 

Although  this  work  had  its  compensations, 
yet  the  trials  and  privations  were  neither  few  nor 
small.  The  mule-litter  could  not  be  afforded  for 
long  trips  and  its  discomfort  from  jolting  and 
jarring  was  such  that  she  at  times  even  preferred 
to  ride  a  donkey,  although  no  one  could  ever 
consider  that  as  luxury. 

The  ordeal  is  something  like  this  :  The  donkey 
is  brought  up,  if  possible  one  that  has  an  easy 
gait,  as  a  strong  donkey  can  have.  He  has  on 
a  rope  halter,  no  bridle.  A  wooden  pack-saddle 
is  put  on.  Over  it  is  laid  a  roll  of  bedding  and 
clothing  which  is  securely  fastened  with  ropes. 
The  rider  mounts  from  a  stool  or  from  some- 
body's steps  or  garden  wall,  and  sets  off  for  the 
day's  ride  of  ten  or  twelve  hours,  in  addition  to 
the  rest  hour  at  noon.  If  the  sun  is  hot,  she 
holds  with  one  hand  the  rope  halter,  with  the 
other  an  umbrella,  bracing  it  by  her  shoulder 
against  the  wind.  When  that  proves  too  strong 
for  her,  she  wets  her  handkerchief  in  the  first 
stream,  puts  it  in  her  hat  and  rides  in  the  sun, 
which  in  the  Orient  is  very  trying.     By  and  by 


114     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

it  rains,  and  she  dismounts,  has  wallet  untied, 
gets  out  her  waterproof  coat  and  overshoes, 
remounts  and  goes  on.  Her  skirts  are  wet  and 
muddy  and  it  is  difficult  to  dry  them  out  in  a 
cheerless  Chinese  inn.  If  it  is  cold,  she  protects 
herself  with  clumsy  felt  shoes,  gaiters  up  over 
her  knees,  and  sheepskin  coat  that  before  night 
gets  very  heavy  on  the  shoulders  and  back.  At 
the  end  of  the  journey  she  is  grateful  if  she  has 
escaped  being  repeatedly  thrown  by  a  tricky  or 
by  a  tired,  stumbling  donkey.  Of  course  at  the 
end  of  each  trip  she  is  forced  to  spend  much 
time  to  rest.  In  this  way  Mrs.  Mateer  rode  thou- 
sands of  miles,  once  going  fifty  miles  in  one  day. 
Had  she  not  inherited  a  strong  constitution,  all 
this  would  have  been  utterly  impossible,  and  for 
a  woman  of  her  ailments  was  certainly  heroic. 

Mrs.  Mateer  generally  had  an  efficient  and 
loyally  devoted  attendant  who  occasionally  went 
even  to  the  questionable  extent  of  joining  the 
'*  church  militant "  in  protecting  a  foreign  woman 
travelling  alone  in  the  interior.  She  was  ac- 
companied on  some  trips  by  a  long,  waggish 
Chinese  who  was  her  devoted  admirer.  Once  a 
carter  in  passing  called  out  to  him,  "Who  is 
that  she-devil  in  that  cart?"  Liu  replied  with 
decided  emphasis,  *'That  is  an  American  lady, 
and  I  do  not  allow  you  or  any  one  else  to  revile 
her."  The  man  bristled  up  and  gave  Liu  a  cut 
with  his  whip.     This  brought  the  parties  to  close 


ITINERATING  115 

quarters,  the  result  of  which  was  that  the  carter 
had  to  take  back  what  he  said.  In  the  mean- 
time Mrs.  Mateer's  conveyance  was  going  on 
without  a  driver.  Liu  soon  overtook  her.  She 
was  much  concerned  on  seeing  some  blood  on 
his  clothes  and  asked  in  alarm  if  he  was  much 
hurt  His  reply  was :  "  You  need  not  be  con- 
cerned ;  that  is  not  my  blood." 

She  had  also  an  evangelist  to  assist  her  on 
these  country  trips,  but  he  did  not  compare  with 
the  help  one  or  more  efficient  Bible-women  would 
have  been.  During  more  recent  years  such 
Bible-women  accompany  the  woman  missionary 
and  greatly  relieve  her  from  the  constant  strain 
of  the  crowds  and  the  work.  She  had  not  large 
numbers  of  Christians  to  choose  from  and  was 
too  busy  with  her  boys  to  train  women  helpers. 
On  this  account  her  work  was  unusually  strenu- 
ous and.  wearying. 

The  man  who  accompanied  her  in  earlier 
years  draws  a  vivid  picture  of  their  experiences : 
"When  we  got  to  an  inn,  the  people,  both  men 
and  women,  old  and  young,  would  crowd  in  to 
suffocation,  anxious  to  see  and  hear  such  an 
unnatural  specimen  of  womankind.  It  was  im- 
possible to  eat  a  meal ;  to  *  talk  doctrine '  was 
out  of  the  question,  simply  the  jostling,  talking 
and  yellings  of  the  crowd,  until  by  pleading  and 
driving  the  innkeeper  managed  to  get  the  inn 
cleared.     In  the  morning  back  came  the  crowd, 


Ii6     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

so  that  the  shentza  could  not  pass  out  till  some 
one  got  up  a  fight  that  drew  off  the  crowd  some- 
what. On  arriving  at  a  village,  the  throng 
would  at  once  gather,  and  at  least  the  first  hour 
would  have  to  be  spent  in  answering,  *What 
country  ?  *  *  How  far  on  water  ?  '  *  How  far  by 
land  ? '  *  How  many  in  family  ? '  *  How  long  in 
China?*  *HowlonginTengchow?'  *  What  come 
out  here  for  ? '  Then  about  the  clothes  from  head 
to  feet,  and  so  on  for  an  hour.  Before  the  story 
of  Jesus  and  the  cross  could  be  told,  another 
crowd  would  come  to  take  the  place  of  the  first. 
In  a  half  day  about  three  such  crowds  could  be 
attended  to.  Mrs.  Mateer  kept  this  up  in  a  vil- 
lage for  three  days  ;  then  on  to  another  village.** 
Among  the  many  listeners  there  were  always  a 
few  who  became  somewhat  interested  in  the  Gos- 
pel. Upon  a  second  trip  over  the  same  territory, 
curiosity  being  partly  satisfied,  she  could  man- 
age to  confine  the  crowds  largely  to  women  ;  but 
she  could  stand  only  about  two  weeks  of  such 
excitement  and  hard  work,  and  at  times  was 
completely  exhausted  by  it.  By  and  by  the 
strain  was  not  so  great,  but  the  work  never  grew 
easy. 

With  her  husband,  Mrs.  Mateer  took  a  trip  in 
the  hot,  rainy  season  when  the  litters  had  to  be 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  eight  or  ten  men. 
This  so  delayed  them  that  they  reached  their  inn 
after  night  in  a  pouring  rain.     It  took  about  one 


ITINERATING  117 

hour  to  get  settled  the  first  night.  On  account 
of  the  innumerable  mosquitoes  and  fleas,  netting 
had  to  be  fastened  to  beams  and  nails  in  the  wall, 
and  powder  sprinkled  on  the  bed.  The  next  day 
on  account  of  the  deep  mud,  the  mules  became 
vicious  and,  plunging,  broke  one  of  the  litter 
poles.  This  threw  Mrs.  Mateer  and  everything 
in  the  vehicle  into  a  heap  in  the  mud.  During 
the  delay  for  repairs,  she  characteristically  went 
to  a  neighboring  village  and  preached  to  the 
women.  Long  after  night,  wading  through  mud 
and  water,  they  finally  reached  their  destination 
and  took  possession  of  a  low,  damp  Chinese  room, 
which  served  as  bedroom  by  night  and  reception 
and  dining-room  by  day.  Here  they  remained 
for  three  weeks,  receiving  visitors  and  going  to 
villages  for  several  miles  around. 

At  another  time  they  took  a  trip  in  the  winter 
and  stopped  in  a  chapel.  They  arrived  after 
dark  and  found  everything  cold  through  and 
through.  The  room  was  large  and  had  been  un- 
occupied. It  had  two  paper  windows  and  two 
doors  very  open.  An  effort  was  made  to  heat 
the  brick  bed,  but  the  fire  refused  to  burn  and 
smoked  so  that  they  had  to  let  it  go  out.  They 
got  a  lot  of  millet  stalks  to  put  under  them  to 
keep  them  off  the  cold  bed.  Later  they  tried  a 
pan  of  coals,  but  found  it  a  serious  job  to  get  the 
coal  to  burn.  Then  they  piled  under  and  over 
them  all  the  bedding  they  had,  but  did  not  really 


ii8     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

get  warm  all  night,  while  all  their  food  and  ink 
and  everything  freezable  froze. 

Mrs.  Mateer  describes  how  on  one  occasion 
she  and  Mrs.  Crossette  arranged  for  a  night. 
**  We  slept  on  the  head  of  a  brick  bed.  On  the 
other  part  of  the  bed  were  our  landlady,  a  boy 
ten  years  old,  a  girl  five  or  six  years,  and  a  mar- 
ried daughter  with  her  baby.  At  our  urgent  re- 
quest they  left  one  leaf  of  the  door  open  into  the 
next  room  for  ventilation.  We  spread  our  quilts, 
loosed  our  belts  and  underwaists  and  lay  down 
in  our  clothes,  much  to  the  disappointment  of 
our  hostess  and  her  daughter.'* 

This  work  was  not  always  conducted  under 
such  unfavorable  conditions,  but  at  best  would  in 
the  West  be  considered  great  hardship  and  ex- 
posure. Mrs.  Mateer  generally  went  to  the  vil- 
lages surrounding  the  central  station.  This  dif- 
ficult and  fatiguing  work  carried  the  Gospel  to 
those  who  otherwise  would  not  have  heard. 
Often  the  women  were  so  frightened  that  they 
ran  away.  But  she  talked  to  them  as  she  could 
on  the  street  and  frequently  was  received  into  a 
home,  and  in  many  villages  had  great  encour- 
agement. 

A  young  missionary  says  :  *'  It  was  with  Mrs. 
Mateer  I  went  for  my  first  visit  to  a  heathen 
home.  I  told  her  how  I  had  longed  in  my  dumb 
months  of  learning  the  language  to  take  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  heathen  women.     So  the  next  morning 


ITINERATING  119 

she  took  me  with  her  through  a  little  back  street 
to  a  closed  courtyard  of  a  Chinese  house.  The 
street  was  empty  but  a  young  woman  soon  came 
to  the  gate  in  answer  to  our  knocking.  She  was 
much  frightened  when  she  saw  our  strange  white 
faces,  and  hurriedly  barred  the  gate  with  her 
trembling  arms.  Mrs.  Mateer  spoke  to  her  gen- 
tly in  her  most  winning  manner.  She  coaxed 
her  in  her  exquisite  Chinese  to  allow  us  to  enter 
that  we  might  tell  her  some  good  news.  But  the 
poor  woman  was  beside  herself  with  fear.  *  Go, 
go  ! '  she  panted.  *  Go  at  once  or  I  will  set  the 
dog  on  you.*  As  we  sadly  left  her  I  looked  into 
Mrs.  Mateer's  patient,  gentle  face,  still  smiling, 
and  I  wondered  that  even  a  heathen  could  not 
see  that  she  had  shut  her  door  upon  one  who 
could  do  her  only  good.  The  next  day  Mrs. 
Mateer  took  me  with  her  to  a  Chinese  home 
where  she  had  an  old  acquaintance.  She  received 
a  joyous  welcome  here,  and  as  she  sat  upon  the 
high  brick  bed,  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  sim- 
plest language,  with  a  wealth  of  apt  illustration, 
to  the  heathen  women  who  had  crowded  in  to 
see  us,  I  was  one  of  her  most  eager  listeners." 

In  a  village  where  the  women  were  listening 
attentively,  a  Buddhist  nun  expressed  special  in- 
terest. She  said  she  had  heard  somewhat  of  the 
"  doctrine,"  and  would  embrace  it  if  Dr.  Mateer 
and  Mr.  Corbett,  who  were  going  on  a  preaching 
tour  to  Tai  San,  the  sacred  mountain  situated  in 


I20     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

the  western  part  of  the  province,  came  back,  and 
the  gods  sent  no  calamit}'  upon  them.  The  gods 
of  that  mountain  were  considered  mighty.  It  was 
said  that  if  a  man  coming  down  the  mountain 
should  venture  to  look  back,  his  neck  would  be 
permanently  twisted. 

On  visiting  a  central  station  Mrs.  Mateer  was 
in  the  habit  of  teaching  a  class  of  women  from 
three  to  six  weeks.  In  this  work  she  put  her 
whole  heart  and  soul,  and  concerning  it  she  says  : 
*'  The  labor  of  teaching  these  women  who  have 
come  to  middle  age  without  ever  having  had  a 
thought  beyond  the  necessities  of  their  bodies  is 
something  of  which  you  can  form  very  little  idea. 
Their  stolidity  is  fearful,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  can 
open  their  minds,  and  has  done  it  in  many  in- 
stances." Her  usual  program  was  to  teach  the 
Catechism,  reading  and  singing  in  the  forenoon ; 
in  the  afternoon  a  lesson  in  Matthew  was  ex- 
plained, and  an  Old  Testament  story  told;  in 
the  evening  prayers  were  held,  after  which  the 
women  scattered  to  their  homes.  In  addition  to 
this  she  took  pains  to  teach  them  the  most  im- 
portant of  our  Christian  customs,  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  family  government,  and  how  to  live 
their  faith  and  religion,  the  training  of  children 
and  the  physical  care  of  them.  She  always  illus- 
trated her  points  with  stories  that  none  would 
ever  forget. 

In  the  autumn  of  1890,  after  attending  mission 


ITINERATING  121 

meeting  at  Weihsien,  she  went  on  west  sixty 
miles  to  the  district  where  she  had  a  few  years 
before  helped  in  famine  distribution.  She  had 
forgotten  many  people  who  remembered  her 
well.  Some  whom  she  remembered  were  dead 
and  some  had  fled  from  the  famine  impending 
in  part  of  the  same  field.  In  the  same  premises 
from  which  she  distributed  famine  relief  were 
gathered  between  thirty  and  forty  women  whom 
she  taught  for  six  weeks. 

**  These  women  gave  their  whole  time  and 
strength  to  study,  and  we  gave  our  whole 
strength  to  them  all  day  long.  They  were  all 
learning  to  read  and  gave  much  of  their  time  to 
that;  besides  we  had  them  classified,  and  Mrs. 
Li  and  I  taught  the  classes  and  also  gave  them 
much  oral  instruction.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to 
see  their  minds  opening  up  and  their  consciences 
awakening  on  many  new  points.  One  day  I 
went  clear  around  a  large  class — eighteen,  I 
think — asking  each  one,  'Is  it  a  sin  to  defile 
water  ? '  All  but  two  answered  *  Yes,'  and  these 
two  I  had  told  when  out  there  before.  Then  I 
went  around  again  asking,  'Shall  we  have  to 
drink  in  the  next  world  all  the  water  we  have 
defiled  in  this  world?'  Most  of  them  thought 
those  who  believed  in  Jesus  would  not  have  to 
drink  it,  but  those  who  did  not  believe  probably 
would.  You  see,  they  needed  teaching  on  many 
points.     One  day  I  spoke  of  our  good  deeds, 


122     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

when  they  assured  me  they  had  no  *  good  deeds/ 
they  had  nothing  but  sin,  *  nothing  at  all.'  '  Why/ 
said  I,  *I  supposed  you  were  all  respectable 
women.  Is  it  possible  you  don't  love  your  chil- 
dren or  your  parents,  or  honor  your  husbands — 
that  you  lie  and  steal  and  revile  and  gad  about, 
neglecting  your  houses?'  Then  they  turned 
about  and  were  entirely  good.  Since  learning 
this  religion  they  had  not  sinned  at  all  except 
unconscious  sins — *  everybody  is  committing  un- 
conscious sin  all  the  time,  you  know.'  You 
see  there  was  need  for  some  new  ideas  on  this 
subject.  Pride,  envy,  revenge,  etc.,  they  had  not 
thought  of  as  sins.  But  considering  that  most 
of  them  two  years  ago  had  never  heard  the 
name  of  Jesus,  it  was  wonderful  how  much  they 
knew  and  how  teachable  they  were.  I  was 
thankful  every  day  that  1  could  have  a  part  in 
the  work  of  teaching  them  and  thankful  that  I 
could  see  so  much  and  so  blessed  results  from 
the  famine  work  last  year." 

Years  since  have  shown  that  Mrs.  Mateer's 
influence  and  instruction  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  many  of  these  women  who  have 
continued  faithful  for  almost  twenty  years  under 
very  discouraging  circumstances.  Four  of  these 
live  in  a  village  where  there  are  no  other  Chris- 
tians. They  still  meet  together  and  part  of  the 
time  go  to  the  nearest  chapel  two  miles  away. 
Another  woman  who  got  her  start  in  this  class 


ITINERATING  123 

is  the  Chinese  instructor  in  the  Woman's  Bible 
Institute  at  Weihsien,  a  very  superior  and  influ- 
ential Christian.  At  times  she  leads  bands  of 
women  in  a  preaching  tour  among  purely 
heathen  villages.  This  same  Bible-woman,  Mrs. 
Lii,  often  tells  the  story  of  her  attending  this  class 
much  as  follows  :  *'  My  mother-in-law  wished 
her  two  sons'  wives  to  go  to  this  class  which  she 
heard  was  being  held  not  far  away.  She  had 
been  cook  at  a  girls'  Christian  boarding  school, 
and  wished  us  to  learn  the  truth  as  she  had  heard 
it.  My  sister-in-law  was  a  very  busy  woman. 
There  was  much  work  to  do  in  the  family.  (In 
that  part  of  the  province  the  daughters-in-law  not 
only  help  with  the  general  work  of  the  family, 
but  each  is  expected  to  make  the  clothes  she 
and  her  husband  wear,  as  well  as  the  children, 
even  to  the  spinning  and  the  weaving  of  the 
cloth.  Early  and  late  she  must  toil,  often  get- 
ting only  three  or  four  hours  of  sleep.)  My 
sister-in-law  would  not  go  herself,  nor  did  she 
wish  me  to  go.  I  was  afraid.  But  my  mother- 
in-law  insisted,  and  finally  a  neighbor  said,  'If 
you  will  go,  I  will.'  What  could  I  do  but  echo, 
*If  you  will  go,  I  will.'  So  we  both  started  out 
together  with  an  older  woman.  When  I  saw 
Mrs.  Mateer  I  was  more  afraid  than  ever  for  I 
had  never  seen  a  foreigner.  She  greeted  me 
warmly  and  took  me  by  the  hand  when  she 
heard  my  husband  was  a  schoolboy.     But  still  I 


124     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

could  not  overcome  my  fear.  Afterwards  in 
class  I  was  so  afraid  her  bright  eyes  would  see 
me  and  that  she  would  ask  me  a  question  that  I 
tried  to  hide  behind  the  others,  and  when  she 
spoke  to  me  I  thought  I  should  sink  into  the 
ground.  In  two  or  three  days  I  lost  my  fear  as 
I  found  I  could  understand  the  stories  she  told. 
As  to  book  learning  I  did  not  learn  much,  though 
I  got  a  good  start.  But  I  got  what  was  better, — 
a  strange,  new  peace  of  heart,  so  that  after  I  went 
home,  whether  grinding  at  the  mill  or  working 
in  the  house,  I  was  happy  all  the  time."  This 
woman  afterwards  went  into  foreign  employ  and 
earned  the  means  to  put  her  husband  through 
academy  and  college.  When  first  married  he 
was  thirteen  and  she  nineteen  years  old. 

Mrs.  Mateer  conducted  many  conversations 
with  individuals.  She  speaks  of  talking  with  one 
woman  for  two  hours  and  says  :  "  I  talked  until 
I  was  exhausted.  I  could  not  see  that  I  had 
made  much  impression,  but  the  very  next  Sun- 
day this  old  woman,  past  sixty,  walked  six  miles 
and  asked  for  baptism.  The  most  that  she  could 
say  was  that  she  firmly  believed.  She  did  not 
know  anything  else  but  she  would  do  her  best  to 
learn.  I  was  alarmed  at  first  lest  she  was  doing 
it  to  please  me,  but  I  now  believe  it  was  of  God." 
Another  day  two  women  remained  after  the  after- 
noon service  and  talked  with  her  for  an  hour  and 
a  half.     She  read  to  them  the  story  of  the  cruci- 


ITINERATING  125 

fixion  and  a  few  verses  here  and  there,  as  the 
conversation  suggested.  They  talked  of  the  op- 
position and  contempt  that  Christians  must 
necessarily  meet  in  this  world.  Mrs.  Wing  and 
her  daughter  both  thought  they  could  not  be 
ashamed  or  afraid  again. 

She  says  concerning  the  holding  of  a  public 
service  with  the  heathen  women :  "  We  tried  to 
hold  a  formal  service  for  the  women.  We  ex- 
plained to  them  what  we  intended  to  do  and 
what  they  were  expected  to  do.  The  babies  had 
all  been  left  at  home  for  that  time.  They  prom- 
ised to  regard  our  wishes  and  keep  quiet,  which 
they  did.  We  had  two  little  talks,  sang  two 
hymns  and  had  one  prayer,  lasting  in  all  nearly 
half  an  hour,  and  had  only  twice  to  stop  for  a 
moment  to  remind  them  of  their  promise  to  keep 
quiet.  As  to  order  the  experiment  was  a  suc- 
cess ; — but  as  we  afterwards  learned  in  conversing 
with  them,  many  had  very  little  idea  of  anything 
that  either  Mrs.  Crossette  or  I  had  said.  A  few 
listened  attentively  and  seemed  to  get  some  idea 
of  what  we  were  telling  them ; — many  more,  how- 
ever, only  learned  our  names,  ages,  color  of  our 
eyes,  how  we  wore  our  hair,  and  similar  matters. 
Mrs.  Crossette  was  much  admired  for  her  youth 
and  beauty.  One  fat,  fussy  old  woman  rushed 
in,  leading  her  half-blind  mother  by  the  hand. 
At  the  door  she  screamed  out,  '  We've  come  to 
see/     With  some  difficulty  she  elbowed  her  way 


126    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

up  to  us,  and  after  a  good  stare  at  me  screamed 
out,  *  Not  so  bad ; '  then  catching  sight  of  Mrs. 
Crossette,  her  voice  fell  to  the  key  of  greatest 
astonishment  and  she  said,  '  But  that's  the  pretty- 
one  I '  After  a  little  longer  stare  and  a  few  more 
expressions  of  approbation,  she  elbowed  her  way- 
out  *to  get  supper.'  " 

Like  other  missionaries  in  China,  Mrs.  Mateer 
met  various  cases  of  the  casting  out  of  demons 
by  Christians.  While  stopping  at  a  Christian 
village  her  hostess,  Mrs.  Liu,  told  the  following 
incident :  "  Her  son,  a  pupil  in  Tengchow  school, 
had  been  affected  with  frequent  attacks  of  what 
we  should  be  likely  to  call  fits,  but  what  she 
termed  *  possessed  of  the  devil.'  She  said : 
'  One  time,  while  at  home  from  school,  one  of 
these  attacks  came  on  and  he  was  lying  out  in 
the  yard  foaming  at  the  mouth.*  Referring  to 
one  of  the  Christians  she  said,  '  Go  and  call  Liu 
Tsunghwoa  to  come  and  pray  the  devil  out  of 
my  boy.'  He  came,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
heathen  onlookers  knelt  and  prayed.  *  The  boy 
got  up,  and  from  that  day  to  this  my  boy  has 
never  had  another  of  those  attacks.  I  said  to 
my  neighbors :  *'  Now  you  see  w^hat  the  Chris- 
tian's God  can  do."  ' 

"  One  day  some  women  were  talking  of  per- 
sons possessed  of  devils.  I  said :  '  Jesus  has 
power  over  all  evil  spirits.'  Mrs.  Li  at  once 
turned  to  the  place  and  read  about  the  casting 


ITINERATING  127 

out  of  the  legion  of  devils.  '  There,'  said  she, 
*  there  were  devils  enough  in  that  man  to  possess 
two  thousand  swine  I  Just  think  how  many  there 
were  1  Enough  to  possess  two  thousand  swine, 
yet  Jesus  commanded  them  in  one  sentence,  and 
they  all  left  him.'  I  have  wondered  a  great  deal 
why  the  devils  were  allowed  to  destroy  so  much 
property,  and  have  read  many  comments.  This 
one  satisfies  me.  Mrs.  Li  knows  nothing  but  her 
housekeeping,  her  catechism,  half  her  hymn- 
book,  and  perhaps  a  dozen  chapters  of  her  New 
Testament." 


X 

FEEDING  THE  HUNGRY 

THE  great  famines  of  China  result  from 
a  combination  of  circumstances.  The 
country  is  entirely  denuded  of  timber, 
which  occasions  floods  and  overflowing  streams, 
so  that  at  times  the  crops  are  drowned  or  washed 
out.  At  other  times  drought  kills  everything. 
There  have  been  no  railroads,  so  that  provisions 
from  a  distance  have  not  been  available.  The 
country  is  hopelessly  overpopulated,  and  the  peo- 
ple are  living  on  the  ragged  edge  of  starvation. 
Even  a  partial  failure  of  crops  means  death  to 
many.  One-third  of  the  province  of  Shantung 
is  mountainous.  If  half  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  were  in  Pennsylvania,  there  would 
not  be  so  many  to  the  square  mile  as  on  the  plains 
of  Shantung. 

Confucius  was  influential  in  deciding  every- 
body to  stay  at  home  to  care  for  their  parents, 
give  them  an  expensive  funeral  and  provide 
them  with  money  so  that  they  could  bribe  their 
way  out  of  trouble  in  the  next  world.  Thus 
every  family  must  have  sons,  and  in  order  to 
insure  this,  if  necessary,  marry  second  wives. 
There  are  great  stretches  of  sparsely  occupied 

128 


FEEDING  THE  HUNGRY  129 

territory  in  parts  of  China  so  that  with  railroads 
and  the  new  light  of  common  sense  which  Chris- 
tianity brings,  there  will  be  a  new  distribution  of 
population  that  will  relieve  this  distress. 

Mrs.  Mateer  assisted  in  the  famine  of  1889 
in  Central  Shantung, — two  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  from  her  home.  She  travelled  partly  on 
donkey  and  partly  by  wheelbarrow.  In  answer 
to  appeals  large  sums  of  money  were  given  into 
the  hands  of  missionaries  who  distributed  it  from 
various  centres.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  had  in 
charge  a  relief  station  together  for  ten  weeks, 
when,  urgent  literary  work  calling  him  away,  she 
assumed  the  whole  burden  for  six  weeks  longer. 
They  had  a  goodly  number  of  reliable  Chinese 
helpers  who  went  with  them  among  the  villages, 
and  with  the  aid  of  the  village  elders  made  per- 
sonal inspection  of  storehouses  and  grain  bins. 
After  satisfying  themselves  that  there  was  not 
enough  grain  to  last  until  the  wheat  harvest, 
they  enrolled  as  many  persons  as  seemed  neces- 
sary. The  distress  in  many  households  was 
appalling.  People  living  in  fine  large  houses 
were  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  Some  had  sold 
every  chair,  table,  chest  and  other  article  of 
furniture  for  a  mere  trifle — perhaps  a  fourth  or 
fifth  of  the  value, — and  used  the  money  to  buy 
grain.  Many  had  taken  off  the  doors  and 
windows  and  sold  them,  and  others  had  unroofed 
their  houses,  selling  the  tiles  and  roof-timbers,  so 


130    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

that  the  walls  of  sun-dried  brick  crumbled  into 
heaps. 

The  missionaries  paid  out  to  the  families  en- 
rolled, for  each  person,  a  weekly  sum  of  three 
cents  gold.  It  was  small,  but,  in  addition  to 
the  roots,  grass  seeds,  and  leaves  they  could 
collect,  would  support  life.  They  did  not  know 
how  much  money  would  be  available  so  feared 
to  go  beyond  this.  Thus  in  this  one  centre  were 
sustained  for  four  months  the  lives  of  fifty 
thousand  people.  Mrs.  Mateer's  special  work 
was  to  look  after  the  sick,  the  starving  babies, 
the  families  who  could  not  live  on  the  meagre 
allowance, — families,  for  instance,  where  there 
were  very  old  persons  or  invalids  or  very  small 
children, — and  to  visit  and  report  any  returned 
refugees  or  any  other  special  cases. 

Some  very  pitiable  cases  came  under  her 
notice.  "  One  family  of  father,  mother  and  four 
children  went  out  with  some  relatives  to  seek 
food,  by  work  or  begging.  Their  litde  all  was 
packed  on  a  large  wheelbarrow  and  the  children 
rode  on  top  of  the  baggage.  The  father  wheeled 
and  the  mother  pulled.  After  a  few  weeks  the 
father  died  of  want  and  exposure.  The  mother 
put  his  dead  body,  wrapped  in  matting,  on  the 
barrow  and  by  the  help  of  a  nephew,  wheeling, 
she  drew  it  home,  spending  nine  days  on  the 
journey." 

"A  company  of  returned  refugees  came  one 


FEEDING  THE  HUNGRY  131 

day  to  our  gate,  begging  to  be  enrolled.  They 
had  walked  five  or  six  miles  and  were  to  return 
that  night.  Among  them  an  old  woman  and 
some  children  looked  so  starved  that  I  gave  each 
some  bread  and  tea.  I  had  forgotten  them  until 
a  few  weeks  afterwards  I  was  visiting  their  village 
when  an  old  white-haired  woman  came  in  and 
fell  down  upon  her  face  to  thank  me  for  that 
coarse  bread  and  tea." 

*'  Oh,  the  skeletons  of  babies  tugging  at  their 
mothers'  shrivelled,  empty  breasts  !  I  have  kept 
millet  gruel  always  on  hand  for  them  and  it  was 
wonderful  how  quickly  they  improved  on  it. 
One  morning  as  I  was  going  out,  a  poor  little 
waif,  stooping  over  his  cane  like  an  old  man, 
accosted  me  saying  :  *  I  have  neither  father  nor 
mother  and  have  come  to  be  your  child  ! '  The 
family  had  gone  out  as  refugees  in  the  early 
winter ;  his  mother  had  died  and  then  his  father, 
and  his  grown-up  brother  had  deserted  him. 
After  he  had  been  with  us  a  few  days  we  heard 
him  telling  some  one  that  he  was  entirely  happy 
now  ;  he  had  three  meals  a  day.  A  pitiful  little 
girl  comes  every  morning  and  evening  and  sits 
in  our  court  to  eat  a  cake  and  drink  a  bowl  of 
gruel.  She  is  one  of  a  large  family  and  too 
timid  to  beg,  while  the  older  ones  are  too  selfish 
to  share  with  her  what  they  may  get.  I  first  saw 
her  sitting  in  a  quiet  room,  just  inside  our  gate, 
as  if  she  might  be  sitting  for  a  picture  of  Meek- 


132     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ness-left-to-starve.  She  comes  daily  and  there 
she  sits  in  the  same  corner  with  her  little  cane  in 
her  hand  and  never  speaks  unless  spoken  to. 
She  is  a  tiny  mite  but  says  she  is  seven  years 
old.  Her  cheeks  have  filled  out  quite  perceptibly 
and  she  is  a  pretty  child." 

*'  One  little  orphan  boy  was  starved  into  half- 
idiocy.  His  aunt  seemed  to  have  been  kind  to 
him  but  he  was  not  a  strong  child  and  could  not 
live  upon  the  poor  food  which  kept  the  rest  of 
the  family  alive." 

*'  There  are  two  results  of  our  work  here,  very 
noticeable  every  time  we  go  on  the  street.  One 
is  the  improved  appearance  of  the  people. 
They  have  largely  lost  the  pinched,  sallow  look 
so  common  at  first.  The  other  is  the  great  de- 
crease in  the  number  of  beggars.  I  think  there 
is  not  more  than  one  now  for  every  twenty  when 
we  first  came." 

In  spite  of  the  pressure  of  this  work  a  great 
deal  of  Mrs.  Mateer's  time  was  taken  up  in  telling 
the  gospel  story  to  the  crowds  of  women  who 
daily  thronged  the  place  where  she  lived.  She 
was  an  adept  in  the  use  of  the  women's  colloquial 
speech,  which  much  delighted  them  and  opened 
the  way  to  their  hearts.  We  read  :  '*  I  have  been 
able  to  sow  a  great  deal  of  good  seed  under  very 
favorable  circumstances.  The  Chinese  despise 
foreigners  so  heartily  that  it  is  difficult  to  get 
any  access  to  the  wealthy  and  the  literary  classes. 


FEEDING  THE  HUNGRY  133 

Now  every  door  is  open  to  us.  I  have  always 
pitied  poor  women, — they  are  so  ignorant  and 
stupefied  by  their  hard  lives.  I  now  pity  the  rich 
women  more, — they  do  not  read,  they  never  go 
abroad  to  see  anybody  but  their  nearest  relatives. 
Their  houses  are  a  little  larger  than  the  houses 
of  the  poor,  but  they  are  not  more  tidy  or  more 
cheery.  They  know  no  way  to  spend  their  money 
but  in  smoking,  sipping  tea  and  gambling,  nor 
any  higher  happiness  than  to  eat  good  food,  wear 
good  clothes  and  gossip  over  their  pipes,  tea  or 
cards  about  the  very  small  circle  of  their  ac- 
quaintances and  the  little  doings  of  the  village. 
When  I  told  of  the  enjoyment  of  books  and  the 
happiness  of  doing  good  to  others,  they  politely 
assented  ;  but  their  faces  said  plainly,  '  All  that 
may  do  very  well  for  cranks  and  barbarians  like 
you,  but  we  are  ladies.  We  do  not  intend  so  to 
demean  ourselves.'  One  of  them  said  to  me: 
*  What  a  wonderfully  economical  man  Mr.  Mateer 
is.  He  does  not  take  opium  or  wine  or  even 
smoke  plain  tobacco.  What  good  can  he  get 
out  of  his  money  ? '  A  few  are  not  like  minded. 
One  lady  has  been  ready  to  help  in  every  way 
she  can,  and  we  have  become  fast  friends.  I 
have  made  the  acquaintance  of  several  most  in- 
teresting and  hopeful  women." 

During  the  four  months  Mrs.  Mateer  so  won 
the  gratitude  and  affection  of  the  people  that 
when  she  was  leaving  the  leading  men  of  the 


134     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

villages  which  had  been  assisted  united  in  pre- 
senting to  her  a  *'  Wan  Min  Shan  " — a  large  satin 
canopy  with  flowing  curtains.  This  was  inscribed 
with  a  suitable  motto  and  the  names  of  the  two 
hundred  and  twenty  odd  villages  that  had  been 
aided.  Such  a  testimony  is  sometimes  given  to 
popular  and  meritorious  officials  when  leaving 
their  posts.  They  provided  an  official  chair  with 
outriders,  and  a  band  of  music,  and  forming  a 
procession  conducted  her  in  state  through  the 
principal  street  of  the  county  seat  in  the  midst 
of  this  famine  district,  and  took  formal  leave  of 
her  a  mile  beyond  the  city.  This  was  simply  a 
recognition  of  her  worth  which  the  Chinese  of 
all  classes  were  quick  to  see  and  appreciate. 
Although  entirely  unexpected  and  undesired  by 
her,  she  could  not  refuse  to  accept  this  public  and 
formal  expression  of  their  heart-felt  gratitude. 
Later  many  were  gathered  into  the  church  as  the 
result  of  this  famine  work. 


XI 

SIDE-LIGHTS 

MRS.  MATEER'S  activities  were  not 
confined  to  college,  medical  and  itin- 
erating work.  There  were  occasions 
when  she  undertook  special  work.  For  instance, 
when  the  first  theological  class  of  older  men  met 
at  Tengchow,  she  taught  them  music  and  gen- 
eral lessons  in  geography,  and  assisted  her  hus- 
band in  preparing  experiments  in  physics  both 
for  this  class  and  for  that  in  the  college.  She 
was  quite  an  adept  in  this  and  was  of  great 
service. 

Mrs.  Mateer's  missionary  vision  from  the  first 
embraced  girls*  schools  that  should  run  parallel 
with  those  for  the  boys.  Accordingly  she  in- 
fluenced her  sister  Maggie  to  come  out  to 
Tengchow  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  a  girls' 
school.  This  her  sister  did,  but  lived  only  a  few 
years.  The  school  has  been  in  existence  ever 
since,  though  its  oversight  has  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes.  Throughout  all  these,  Mrs. 
Mateer  remained  its  abiding  counsellor  and  sup- 
port. It  was  left  entirely  to  her  care  repeatedly. 
First  and  last,  she  gave  a  great  deal  to  this  school 
in    responsibility   shouldered,   in   thought,    and 

135 


136     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

active  assistance.  She  herself  says :  "I  cannot 
tell  you  what  a  burden — a  perfect  nightmare — 
that  girls'  school  has  been  to  me  all  this  year. 
If  we  had  not  extra  good  teachers  and  an  un- 
usually good  set  of  girls,  I  should  have  collapsed 
under  the  burden."  At  one  juncture  she  said  to 
her  husband :  **  If  there  is  no  other  way  we  will 
separate,  and  I  will  go  over  there  and  live  until 
we  get  help  for  them." 

Yet  precious  results  followed  this  work.  This 
is  illustrated  in  the  following  story  :  In  the  earlier 
years  of  the  girls'  school  at  Tengchow  a  girl  from 
a  non-Christian  home  attended  for  a  short  time 
and  came  under  Mrs.  Mateer's  influence.  After 
two  years  she  was  married  into  a  heathen  home 
where  her  mother-in-law  forbade  her  to  attend 
church  or  to  go  to  see  the  Christians  or  mission- 
aries, or  even  to  read  the  Bible.  But  when  her 
son  was  grown  she  and  her  family  separated 
from  the  mother-in-law  and  built  a  home  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  town.  She  never  forgot  what 
she  had  learned  in  the  mission  school,  and  when 
well  along  in  years  walked  twenty-seven  miles 
back  to  the  school  where  she  studied  Christian 
truth,  applied  for  baptism  and  with  her  son  was 
admitted  to  the  church.  She  said,  ''  One  night 
long  after  being  at  school  I  dreamed  that  Mrs. 
Mateer  came  to  me.  She  led  me  into  a  large 
church  filled  with  people,  and  after  taking  me  to 
the  front  she  said  :  *  Sing.'     I  put  my  hands  over 


SIDE-LIGHTS  137 

my  lips  and  said,  'I  cannot.'  She  quickly  pulled 
my  hands  away  and  said  again,  'Sing.  Can't 
you  sing  ''  Jesus  loves  me  "  ? '  "  And  Mrs.  Liu 
continued  :  "  Thus  was  God  calling  me  to  witness 
for  Him,  and  I  mean  to  tell  all  I  can  about  Jesus.'* 
She  must  have  kept  the  good  seed  in  her  heart 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  when  it  sprang  up 
and  bore  fruit. 

During  the  long  period  of  indifference,  and 
even  active  opposition  to  female  education  in 
Shantung  on  the  part  of  the  Church  and  many 
missionaries,  Mrs.  Mateer  stood  as  its  champion 
and  active  promoter.  It  seems  now  almost  in- 
credible that  in  the  Shantung  province  in  1893, 
after  thirty  years  of  effort,  with  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  missionaries,  and  about  eight  thousand 
church-members,  only  one  woman  was  giving 
herself  to  the  education  of  girls. 

A  paper  was  presented  that  year  at  the  Shan- 
tung Missionary  Conference,  urging  the  appall- 
ing mistake  in  all  this.  In  stirring  up  interest 
in  this  movement,  Mrs.  Mateer  was  both  inspirer 
and  guide.  Later  on  wiser  counsels  prevailed 
and  extensive  education  of  women  in  Shantung 
is  now  highly  appreciated  and  generally  pro- 
moted by  missionaries,  Christians,  and  even  some 
heathen. 

When  other  things  were  dropped  for  lack  of 
strength,  throughout  all  the  years  she  continued 
to  teach  her  Sunday-school  class,  for  which  she 


138     CHARACTER»BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

always  made  careful  preparation.  Even  when 
in  Shanghai  assisting  her  husband  in  literary 
work,  she  gathered  up  a  Sunday-school  class. 
**The  only  missionary  work  I  can  do  here  is  in 
the  Union  Church  Sunday-School  where  I  have 
taken  a  class  made  up  of  Chinese  nurses  who 
escort  the  little  English  children  to  Sunday- 
school.  We  have  to  get  on  in  *  Pidgin  English ' 
mixed  with  a  few  Mandarin  words,  because  my 
Chinese  is  unintelHgible  to  them.  We  talk  after 
some  such  fashion :  *  Have  you  got  ling  hiven 
(soul)  ? '  *  Yes,  have  got.'  '  S'pose  you  die,  could 
go  where  ?  '  One  answers,  *  Good  man  go  top- 
side, bad  man  go  down-side.'  '  How  you  know?' 
*  My  b'long  church.'  I  afterwards  learned  from 
her  that  she  belonged  to  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Amoy.  The  other  women  did  not  know 
'where  go.'  One  said,  'Dead,  all  makee  spoil 
in  ground.'  I  asked,  *  Dead  can  know  any- 
thing ?  '  *  No,  dead  no  savey  (know)  anything.' 
One  said,  'S'pose  all  good  people  go  top-side, 
stop  all  time,  too  many,  no  can  stay.^  She  was 
arguing  for  transmigration  of  souls.  You  see  I 
have  a  hard  task,  but  God  can  use  even  these 
poor  means  to  awaken  these  women." 

The  Chinese  were  mightily  influenced  by  her 
faithfulness  in  attendance  upon  all  the  public 
services,  both  on  Sunday  and  during  the  week. 
An  old  pupil  recalls  the  following :  "  One  dark, 
rainy  night   she   started   to  wade   through  the 


SIDE-LIGHTS  139 

mud  to  the  weekly  prayer-meeting.  She  slipped 
and  fell  in  the  mud.  'This  time,'  we  students 
said,  *  she  will  certainly  not  get  to  the  meeting.' 
To  our  great  surprise,  after  going  back  home  to 
change  her  clothes,  she  came  to  the  meeting." 
The  prayer-meeting,  which  she  began  for  the 
women  during  her  second  year  in  China,  she 
continued  all  her  life  in  Tengchow.  Thirty  years 
afterwards  she  writes  of  the  pleasure  it  gave  her 
and  of  the  good  it  had  done  many  women.  **  At 
first  they  supposed  that  Christianity,  like  all  other 
religions  they  know  anything  about,  was  a  sys- 
tem of  doctrines  and  ceremony.  One  must  be 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in  leading 
them  out  into  a  real  understanding  of  the  Chris- 
tian life." 

Mrs.  Mateer  always  did  the  pastoral  work 
among  the  women  of  the  Tengchow  church, 
visiting  much  from  house  to  house  both  among 
the  heathen  and  Christian  families.  She  knew 
better  than  any  one  else  there  everything  about 
everybody  and  every  family  connected  with  the 
church.  Many  incidents  are  told  of  her  prac- 
tical and  sympathetic  kindness.  It  was  a  living 
Gospel  that  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
Chinese.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  lived  always  in 
a  very  plain  and  frugal  way  that  they  might 
have  the  means  to  help  others,  and  find  through 
helpfulness  entrance  to  their  hearts. 

*'  The  family  into  which  a  feeble-minded  young 


I40     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

woman  married  would  not  have  her,  so  the 
mother  had  to  provide  for  her.  On  account  of 
the  mother's  poverty,  Mrs.  Mateer  cared  for  this 
unfortunate  woman  until  her  death." 

"  An  old  woman  in  the  city  was  made  afraid 
of  heavy  rains  by  a  flood  following  one  such,  so 
ever  after  that  when  a  rain  came,  Mrs.  Mateer 
sent  a  man  to  bring  the  old  woman  to  her  home, 
even  having  him  carry  her  on  his  back  when  the 
streets  were  bad." 

*'  There  lived  in  an  old  temple  now  demolished 
a  family,  the  mother  in  which  had  died,  leaving 
twin  children  about  five  years  old.  The  father 
was  taken  ill  and  could  not  care  for  the  children. 
So  Mrs.  Mateer  fed  and  cared  for  them  all  win- 
ter. But  in  the  spring  they  all  disappeared  and 
never  returned  to  give  thanks."  These  incidents 
might  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 

Sometimes  the  knowledge  of  this  kindness  in- 
spired confidence  and  won  a  heart  as  nothing 
else  could  have  done. 

"A  man  became  a  Christian  at  Tengchow, 
whose  family  lived  one  hundred  li  (thirty-four 
miles)  in  the  country.  He  went  home  and  told 
his  family  not  to  worship  ancestors  and  burn 
incense  at  the  New  Year.  His  wife  had  brought 
out  the  tablets,  offerings,  etc.  That  night  she 
put  all  away  for  fear  her  husband  would  come 
home  and  find  them ;  but  she  forgot  one  little 
box   of   incense  on  the  table.     He  came  home, 


SIDE-LIGHTS  141 

and  discovering  it  reproved  her.  She  began  to 
argue  and  the  neighbors  came  to  help,  where- 
upon the  husband  took  all  the  tablets  and  burned 
them  to  ashes.  His  neighbors  and  all  his  wife's 
relatives  became  his  enemies.  As  soon  as  Mrs. 
Mateer  heard  all  this  she  sent  to  entreat  the  wife 
to  come  to  study.  When  this  failed  she  went  the 
one  hundred  li  in  person  to  see  the  woman  and 
her  relatives  and  neighbors.  She  stayed  several 
days.  The  woman's  brother  saw  Mrs.  Mateer's 
perseverance,  self-denial  and  kindness,  and  said, 
*  Have  foreigners  then  such  love  ? '  So  he  was 
glad  to  bring  the  woman  to  the  city.  When  she 
came  to  Tengchow,  she  heard  so  much  of  Mrs. 
Mateer's  kindness  and  care  and  helpfulness  that 
she  lost  her  fear  and  studied  and  became  a 
Christian.  Later  her  brother  and  his  family  also 
were  baptized.  Now  all  the  descendants  of  this 
family  are  professing  Christians,  one  of  them 
being  a  pastor's  wife." 

Mrs.  Mateer  was  constantly  in  demand  as 
counsellor.  "  One  of  my  sister's  old  pupils  was 
here  the  other  day  to  talk  over  her  prospects  and 
troubles.  She  thought  Mr.  Mateer  and  I  had 
better  stop  trying  to  do  much  more  work  and 
save  ourselves  up  to  be  consulted.  We  have 
had  some  fun  over  her  suggestion  but  the  con- 
sultations are  not  much  fun." 

"  Mrs.  Li,  eighty-four  years  old,  is  trying  to 
get  a  Christian  widow  in  Chefoo  for  her  widowed 


142     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

son  of  fifty-two.  At  every  turn  in  affairs  she  comes 
to  me  and  says  :  *  But  I  must  fiave  you  to  speak 
a  word.  Affairs  won't  move  a  peg  otlierwise. 
Tlie  Lord  sent  you  to  me  instead  of  a  motfier.'  " 

**  Last  evening  a  letter  came  from  the  father  of 
one  of  the  boys  saying  :  *  To  De  Sz  Niang  greet- 
ing. Please  get  my  son  a  wife.  No  more  at 
present.  Yours,  etc'  Afterwards  a  letter  came 
from  the  sister  of  one  of  my  favorite  big  boys,  a 
nice  letter  with  lots  of  nice  things  in  it,  but  the 
burden  of  it  was, — *  It  would  be  a  great  favor  if 
you  could  find  a  wife  for  my  brother.'  " 

Dr.  Hayes,  in  his  address  at  her  funeral,  re- 
marked :  "  When  the  Chinese  pastors,  helpers  or 
teachers  came  to  Tengchow  to  report  their  work, 
they  did  not  go  first  to  Dr.  Mills  or  to  Dr. 
Mateer  or  to  me,  but  you  would  find  them  sitting 
in  Mrs.  Mateer's  room  giving  her  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  every  discouragement  and  every  suc- 
cess." 

Missionaries  are  considered  public  servants 
and  their  work  for  the  people  must  take  prece- 
dence over  everything  else  ;  yet  they  have  their 
own  homes  and  families  and  cares  to  consider 
and  the  adjustment  between  these  is  not  easy. 
Mrs.  Mateer  writes  :  "  It  often  happens  that  while 
I  am  telling  some  Chinese  woman  how  she 
ought  to  keep  herself,  her  house  and  her  children 
always  clean,  and  take  pains  to  make  her  home 
pleasant,  her  table  inviting,  etc.,  etc.,  for  herhus- 


SIDE-LIGHTS  143 

band, — my  own  house  goes  unswept,  my  dinner 
gets  spoiled,  or  the  most  important  dish  left  out, 
and  my  husband's  clothes  lack  buttons.  I  rarely 
sit  down  an  hour  with  my  needle  when  I  am 
able  to  read  Chinese,  to  write,  or  to  talk,  that 
Calvin  does  not  remonstrate.  He  says,  *  Give 
your  strength  to  the  Chinese,  and  your  leisure  to 
resting.*  I  suspect  you  would  not  praise  my 
housekeeping  much,  though  I  do  not  believe 
you  would  find  our  home  at  all  unendurable.  I 
often  congratulate  myself  that  there  is  no  *  so- 
ciety' here  to  fear,  no  envious  or  evil-minded 
eyes  to  pry  either  into  my  wardrobe  or  my 
kitchen." 

Occasionally  she  found  in  distinctively  wom- 
anly tasks  recreation  and  change.  Early  in  her 
life  in  China  she  writes  : 

"  Calvin  needs  the  teacher,  so  I  have  laid  aside 
my  Chinese  books  for  a  week  and  am  putting 
our  winter  clothes  in  order.  I  washed  my  old 
brown  merino  which  I  wore  every  day  last  win- 
ter, turned  it  upside  down  and  made  it  over  for 
Sunday  ;  washed  my  cloth  sacque  and  changed 
the  style  of  the  sleeves,  and  made  me  a  pressed 
flannel  sacque  to  wear  over  my  brown  silk  dress 
which  has  given  out  under  the  arms.  Now  I  am 
to  make  Calvin  trousers,  a  vest,  possibly  a  coat, 
but  I  hope  not.     And  then  for  my  music  book  I" 

In  addition  to  all  that  she  did  for  the  Chinese, 
much   time    was   given   to   her   foreign  friends. 


144     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

During  the  years,  she  entertained  in  her  home  by 
the  sea  many  missionaries  who  came  there  before 
regular  summer  resorts  were  opened.  This  is 
the  testimony  of  one  of  these:  "I  look  back 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  to  those  early  days  of 
mine  in  China,  when  I  met  Mrs.  Mateer  and  her 
sister.  The  inspiration  their  zeal  and  devotion 
gave  to  others,  like  myself,  who  had  the  privilege 
of  meeting  them,  has  been  an  unspent  force  all 
through  my  life,  and  has  passed  on  to  other 
minds,  Chinese  as  well  as  foreigners.  It  is  such 
people  as  Mrs.  Mateer  who  are  the  children  of 
God,  moving  to  and  fro  among  the  children  of 
men.  They  are  in  the  world  but  not  of  it.  They 
bring  blessings  from  heaven  to  human  sufferers  on 
earth.  They  are  the  messengers, — veritably  the 
angels  of  God, — dispensing  His  grace  and  love 
to  those  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden." 

Another  writes  :  "  After  my  husband's  death,  I 
was  transferred  to  Tengchow  and  was  taken, 
with  my  four  children,  into  Mr.  Mateer's  family. 
My  baby  boy — five  months  old — was  a  great 
curiosity  to  the  Chinese,  as  for  a  long  time  there 
had  been  no  baby  in  the  mission.  The  report 
spread  far  and  wide  that  there  was  a  foreign 
baby  in  the  house  and  for  many  days  crowds  of 
visitors  came  to  see  him.  How  I  admired  Mrs. 
Mateer  then.  She  always  made  them  welcome, 
never  thinking  of  being  inconvenienced  and 
never  letting  them  go  without  telling  them,  in 


SIDE-LIGHTS  '     M5 

her  cheery  way,  about  the  love  of  Jesus.  She 
never  spared  herself.  She  was  lovely  to  my 
children  and  they  speak  of  her  always  with 
tender  affection.  We  were  in  her  home  four 
months  until  the  Tientsin  massacre  drove  all 
missionaries  out  of  Tengchow." 

Many  new  recruits  for  Tengchow  and  for  the 
newer  stations  of  the  interior  stayed  with  the 
Mateers,  so  that  most  of  the  time  some  one  was 
living  with  them.  Housekeeping  was  not  one  of 
her  favorite  employments  but  she  did  this  enter- 
taining as  part  of  her  missionary  duty.  There 
was  involved  in  this  the  spending  of  much  time 
and  thought  in  interpreting  of  the  language,  in 
advising  concerning  new  furniture,  marketing, 
help  and  the  innumerable  things  about  which 
young  missionaries  wanted  and  needed  advice. 
One  of  these  says  :  **  We  lived  with  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Mateer  the  first  winter,  and  through  it  all 
they  were  uniformly  kind  and  courteous  to  us 
and  most  interested  in  all  that  concerned  us." 
Another  :  "  To  the  young  members  of  the  station 
she  was  a  tender  mother,  or  a  loving  sister,  ever 
ready  to  advise,  happiest  when  she  thought  she 
was  helpful  to  us  and  keenly  appreciative  of  all 
we  accomplished." 

Motherless  missionary  children  were  at  differ- 
ent times  committed  to  her  care.  It  was  one  of 
the  sorrows  of  her  life  that  she  had  no  children. 
She  loved  them  very  much  and  was  never  so 


146     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

happy  as  when  among  them.  Two  children 
were  left  to  her  care  while  the  father  went  on  an 
itinerating  tour.  She  taught  them,  attended  to 
their  clothes  and  nursed  one  through  scarlet 
fever.  Writing  in  October  of  one  year  she  says  : 
"  I  have  had  just  one  week's  rest  from  sick  folks 
since  July.     The  last  boy  had  been  able  to  go 

into    school   one   day,    and   Eddie   M had 

nearly  recovered  from  a  severe  cold  and  dumb 

ague  when  Rose  M came  down  with  scarlet 

fever.  She  had  it  lightly  and  the  very  fact  that 
she  felt  so  well  made  it  all  the  more  difficult  to 
keep   her   from   exposing   herself.     I    was  very 

glad  Dr.  K got  home  in  time  to  take  the 

responsibility  off  my  hands.  I  have  had  to 
arrange  for  the  winter  clothing  for  both  of  these 
children  and  have  sewed  every  spare  moment  for 
one  week  to  get  things  ready  for  a  cold  snap  ; 
then  Rose  took  the  fever  and  for  a  week  more  I 
had  to  give  all  my  spare  time  to  knitting  and 
reading  to  her.  I  have  footed  three  pairs  of 
stockings  and  am  knitting  a  new  pair  so  now 
they  will  soon  each  have  a  change.  I  have  con- 
cluded that  I  cannot  again  assume  such  respon- 
sibilities when  Calvin  is  away  and  I  have  the 
school  on  my  hands." 

Another  motherless  little  one  was  left  with  her 
for  years,  during  which  time  she  took  the  place 
of  a  mother,  in  every  way  caring  for  her.  A 
friend    says :      ''  While    Mrs.    Mateer   and   her 


SIDE-LIGHTS  147 

husband  tarried  in  our  home  for  months  at  a 
time,  strenuously  engaged  in  literary  work,  it 
was  beautiful  to  watch  their  love  for  the  children 
of  the  family.  I  can  never  forget  how  Mrs. 
Mateer  kept  our  little  daughter  out  in  the  bright 
sunshine  with  her  every  morning  for  about  half 
an  hour.  A  large  carriage-rug  was  thrown  over 
the  steps  and  the  Uttle  girl  took  her  story- 
book and  read  to  Mrs.  Mateer  while  she  did  a 
bit  of  mending.  She  felt  she  needed  every 
morning  a  little  time  for  an  *  outing'  as  she 
called  it,  and  her  kind  heart  devised  this  way  of 
taking  it.  They  called  it  their  *  morning  ride ' 
together,  and  her  enjoyment  of  it  was  quite  as 
real  as  the  child's.  Occasionally  she  would  have 
a  children's  party,  and  the  picture  of  her  as  she 
went  to  meet  her  little  guests  is  one  of  the 
sweetest  in  the  '  memory-room  '  she  still  occupies. 
She  was  such  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  it  was 
therefore  all  the  more  beautiful  to  see  in  her  this 
*  heart  of  a  little  child.'  " 

Mrs.  Mateer  wrote  numerous  articles  for  the 
periodical  press  in  China  and  in  the  United 
States,  and  many  letters  to  her  friends  and  to 
others  in  the  interest  of  the  work.  Below  is 
given,  in  part,  one  of  the  productions,  written 
more  especially  to  the  missionaries,  but  full  of  her 
kind  comprehension  of  conditions  surrounding 
the  Chinese  Christians. 


148    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

**  Cleanliness  Is  Next  To  Godliness  " 
"When  we  counted  the  cost  of  being  mis- 
sionaries, doubtless  we  recognized  the  possibility 
of  hardships,  dangers,  disappointments,  sickness, 
even  bereavements  and  death ;  but  I  wonder  how 
many  of  us  took  dirt  into  the  account.  Yet  it  is 
the  first  trial  we  meet  on  our  arrival,  and  is  every- 
where present,  in  city  and  village,  on  the  streets, 
in  the  courts  and  houses,  and  on  the  clothes  and 
persons  of  their  inmates.  The  theme  of  this 
paper  is  a  household  maxim  in  Christian  lands, 
and  has  such  a  Scriptural  ring  that  it  seems  like 
a  text  from  the  Bible.  In  the  midst  of  a  Chris- 
tian civilization,  cleanliness  is  often  a  stepping- 
stone  to  godliness,  and  one  of  the  evidences  of 
a  renewed  heart.  Instinctively  we  begin  our 
efforts  for  the  conversion  of  these  '  dirty  Chinese ' 
by  trying  to  teach  them  cleanliness.  We  exhaust 
our  supplies  of  handkerchiefs,  soap  and  towels 
in  the  good  work,  and  sigh  for  unlimited  stores 
of  these  essentials  for  free  distribution. 

"  But  most  questions  have  at  least  two  sides  and 
one's  judgment  on  every  subject  is  much  modi- 
fied by  one's  standpoint,  habit,  and  prejudices. 
We  say  '  Behold  these  filthy  Chinese,  who  seldom 
bathe  or  wash  their  clothes.'  The  Chinese  say, 
'  Behold  these  filthy  foreigners, — what  an  amount 
of  washing  and  scrubbing  it  takes  to  keep  them 
clean.  They  smell  of  butter  and  cannot  even 
endure   the   odor   of   their   own  bodies   without 


SIDE-LIGHTS  149 

a  daily  bath.'  As  to  food  we  say :  *  This 
Chinese  stuff — ugh  !  I  cannot  bring  myself  to 
taste  of  it'  The  Chinese  say :  '  Grov/n-up  men 
and  women  drinking  milk  like  babies,  having 
knives  on  the  table  like  butchers — how  disgust- 
ing ! '  Certainly  there  is  no  accounting  for 
tastes,  excepting,  of  course,  one's  own. 

"  More  and  more  we  see  that  the  Chinese  are 
not  so  dirty  as  we  at  first  imagine  them  to  be. 
Their  women  are  as  strict  in  carrying  out  their 
ideas  of  cleanliness  as  we  are  ours.  I  know  but 
few,  even  of  the  very  poor,  who  do  not  keep  the 
cooking  range  and  utensils,  the  bread-board,  and 
chopping-block  as  clean  as  any  one  could ;  and 
they  winnow  and  wash  the  millet,  and  pick  over 
and  wash  their  vegetables  with  great  care  and 
nicety.  They  are  very  careful  about  sweeping, 
too,  though  the  choice  of  a  place  for  the  accumu- 
lated sweepings  be  limited  to  the  corner  behind 
the  door,  and  to  the  street,  which  no  garbage 
cart  and  no  scavenger,  except  hungry  dogs  and 
chickens,  ever  visit. 

"Another  thing  we  shall  learn  as  we  extend 
our  acquaintance  with  families  is  that  most  of  the 
filth  of  the  Chinese  is  due  to  their  poverty. 
Where  there  is  an  income  of  not  over  ten  dollars 
a  year  per  member  to  cover  the  whole  expense 
of  living,  perhaps  including  rent  (and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  families  have  less),  is  it 
any  wonder  that  they  have  few  changes  of  rai- 


ISO    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ment  or  that  they  grudge  the  fading  and  wear  of 
each  washing  of  their  garments,  or  that  in  the 
hot  weather  they  save  the  children's  clothes  and 
the  men's  shirts,  or  that  they  have  not  plenty  of 
hot  water  and  soap  to  keep  them  clean  ?  I  have 
often  wondered  at  the  patient  industry  of  these 
women,  as  they  sit  by  the  streams  for  hours  to- 
gether, under  the  beams  of  the  burning  sun,  or 
with  hands  purple  and  numb  with  the  coldness 
of  the  water,  rubbing  and  pounding  at  garments 
so  dirty  and  ragged  we  would  take  them  up  with 
the  tongs  and  put  them  in  the  fire.  So  would 
they,  but  that  stern  necessity  of  poverty  compels 
them  to  wash  and  mend  them.  I  wonder,  too, 
that  they  manage  to  get  their  clothes  so  clean 
with  no  soap,  and  no  better  appliances  for  wash- 
ing than  a  rough  cut  stone  and  an  Indian  club 
and  a  little  crude  soda  or  soft  soapstone.  Is  it 
strange,  with  such  means  of  washing,  white 
things  soon  cease  to  be  white,  however  clean 
they  may  be  ?  The  superstition,  probably  uni- 
versal in  China,  that  we  shall  be  compelled  in 
the  unseen  world  to  drink  all  the  water  we  have 
defiled  in  this  world,  no  doubt  has  its  influence 
in  determining  the  amount  of  washing  and  bath- 
ing done. 

"  The  want  of  space  and  the  fear  of  thieves  re- 
quires everything  to  be  crowded  in  and  around 
the  house.  The  problem  of  cleanliness  in  a 
house  with  a  clay  floor  and  no  ceiling,  lighted 


SIDE-LIGHTS  151 

only  by  paper  windows,  its  walls  ornamented 
with  bunches  of  seed,  grain  in  the  ear,  hoes, 
sickles,  etc.,  and  fringed  with  rows  of  bins  and 
baskets  and  jars  full  of  grain,  and  opening  into  a 
barn-yard  occupied  by  donkey,  pigs  and  poultry, 
is  no  easy  one.  Every  one  knows  how  hard  it 
is  to  keep  little  children  clean,  even  in  roomy 
houses,  with  painted  or  carpeted  floors.  How 
much  more  difficult  where  children  have  no  place 
to  play  but  on  the  bed,  clay  floor  or  in  the  street  ? 
"  After  all,  is  cleanliness  essential  to  godliness  ? 
The  Mosaic  law  included  many  washings  and 
cleansings,  but  Moses,  the  lawgiver,  who  talked 
with  God  face  to  face,  despite  his  early  training 
in  the  palace  of  Pharaoh,  could  not  always  have 
kept  clean  during  his  eighty  years  of  nomad  life. 
David  was  the  man  after  God's  own  heart,  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel,  but  as  a  shepherd  and  as 
a  refugee,  he  could  not  have  been  cleaner  than  a 
Chinese  peasant.  Elijah,  the  brave  '  man  of 
God,'  was  a  rough  man  in  coarse  attire.  If  we 
had  been  making  him  ready  for  his  translation, 
after  his  dusty  walk  to  the  Jordan,  we  would 
surely  have  given  him  a  good  bath.  But  God 
took  him  over,  dry  shod.  '  Cleanliness  is  next 
to  godliness '  is  not  a  Scriptural  text.  Humility 
and  sincerity  ;  faith,  virtue,  knowledge,  temper- 
ance, patience,  godliness,  brotherly  kindness  and 
charity ;  goodness,  righteousness  and  truth ; 
love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  good- 


152     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance ;  these  are 
Scriptural  lists  of  Christian  virtues.  *  Pure  re- 
ligion ...  is  this,  to  visit  the  widow  and 
fatherless  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world.'  *  Godliness  with  contentment  is  gain.' 
Not  a  word  yet  about  cleanliness. 

"  Is  cleanliness  then  not  a  virtue  ?  Shall  we 
adopt  the  standard  of  the  Chinese  with  whom  we 
come  most  in  contact,  and  adapt  ourselves  to  it 
as  best  we  can  ?  By  no  means.  Let  us  keep 
ourselves,  our  families,  our  houses,  as  clean  as  we 
can  without  unduly  taxing  strength,  time  and 
temper ;  and  let  us  inculcate  cleanliness  in  our 
schools,  in  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  highest 
interests  of  our  pupils  in  their  circumstances.  The 
life  of  an  ordinary  Chinese  woman  is  a  hard, 
rough  one.  They  are  starved  intellectually,  ill- 
fed  physically — far  more  so  than  the  men,  and 
are  hard  worked.  Besides  the  cooking,  washing, 
sewing,  grinding  of  the  grain  and  care  of  the 
children,  as  a  rule  (throughout  the  northern 
provinces  at  least),  they  are  expected  to  provide 
the  clothing  for  the  family,  manufacturing  the 
cloth  from  the  cotton  pods,  and  performing  every 
step  of  the  process  by  hand.  There  is  little  of 
social  enjoyment,  or  of  conjugal,  or  even  filial 
love.  No  star  of  hope  shining  from  the  unseen 
world  to  brighten  their  lives  ;  and  they  never  go 
from  home,  except  to  visit  their  relatives  or  near 
neighbors,   whose  lives  differ  in  no  wise   from 


SIDE-LIGHTS  153 

their  own.  What  wonder  they  are  without  en- 
terprise or  ambition  ?  Some  at  least  of  our  edu- 
cated girls  must  go  back,  in  some  degree,  to  such 
lives  and  surroundings.  Is  it  wise  or  kind  or 
right  for  us  to  unfit  them  entirely  for  such  future 
circumstances  ?  A  few  years  ago  the  daughter 
of  a  poor,  but  thrifty,  farmer  was  educated  in  one 
of  the  plainest  of  the  girls'  schools.  She  had 
been  betrothed  in  her  childhood  to  the  son  of  a 
neighboring  farmer,  who  with  his  family  happily 
had  become  Christians.  When  she  went  home 
for  her  last  vacation,  she  spent  a  whole  month 
crying  in  prospect  of  the  society  and  surround- 
ings in  which  her  life  must  be  spent.  But  grace 
triumphed  and  she  accepted  her  lot,  and  devoted 
herself  to  the  work  of  giving  to  her  neighbors 
the  spiritual  and  intellectual  blessings  she  had 
received.  Why  did  she  not  improve  her  sur- 
roundings ?  Because,  like  Archimedes,  she  had 
no  fulcrum ;  nor  had  she  a  lever  long  enough. 

"There  is  a  great  deal  of  hard,  rough  work  to 
be  done  before  China  is  converted  to  Christ. 
There  must  be  educated  men  ready  to  trudge  on 
foot  (often  with  their  luggage  on  their  shoulders) 
over  the  hills  and  plains,  preaching  the  Gospel, 
and  there  must  be  educated  Christian  women 
willing  to  travel  on  wheelbarrows  or  donkeys  and 
willing  to  live  in  boxes  and  bundles  for  months 
together,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  the  good  news  of 
salvation,  and  teaching  it,  to  those  who  are  will- 


154    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

ing  to  learn.  And  there  must  be  men  and  women 
of  such  intelligence,  strength  of  character  and 
fertility  of  resource  as  only  a  liberal  Christian 
education  can  develop,  who  are  yet  willing  to  be 
poor  all  their  lives,  and  to  live  as  other  Chinese 
do,  and  right  among  them,  in  order  to  be  their 
pastors  and  teachers. 

''  Though  cleanliness  is  not  next  to  godliness, 
nor  its  first  fruit,  yet  it  is  a  sure  fruit.  Godliness 
always  produces  sound  morality  and  awakens  in- 
telligence, enterprise  and  independence  of  char- 
acter ;  these  in  their  turn  produce  wealth.  God- 
liness and  intelligence,  with  wealth  as  a  helper, 
always  produce  cleanliness  and  all  true  refine- 
ment. Let  us  seek  first  the  conversion  of  the 
Chinese,  and  their  moral  and  spiritual  elevation, 
and  try  to  wait  patiently  for  all  the  other  pleas- 
ant fruits,  which  are  sure  to  come  in  their  season. 

"  It  will  strengthen  both  our  patience  and  our 
courage  if  we  consider  the  changes  even  one 
hundred  years  have  made  in  the  personal  and 
domestic  habits  and  sanitary  conditions  of  the 
common  people  of  Europe  and  America.  In  the 
redeemed  world,  doubtless,  God  has  as  much  use 
for  the  Chinese  as  for  the  Anglo-Saxons ;  and 
He  has  given  to  them,  as  to  us,  the  traits  which 
best  suit  His  purposes.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  us 
that  some  of  the  Chinese  Christians  become  so 
much  like  foreigners ;  yet  as  we  have  no  proof 
that  foreign  Christians  are  any  more  pleasing  to 


SIDE-LIGHTS  155 

God  than  Chinese  Christians,  let  us  try  to  be 
content,  for  the  present,  with  the  regeneration 
and  renovation  of  the  inner  man,  and  wait  till 
Christianity  has  had  time  to  show  us  the  per- 
fected Chinese  Christian." 


XII 

STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH 

DUR.ING  her  thirty-four  years  in  China 
Mrs.  Mateer  visited  the  home-land  but 
twice,  the  first  time  after  fifteen  years. 
The  Board  had  urged  her  and  her  husband  to 
come  home  earlier,  and  finally  proposed  that  for 
health  reasons  she  come  a  year  in  advance  and 
remain  two  years.  Their  great  problem  was  get- 
ting some  one  to  take  charge  of  the  school  in 
which  their  lives  had  become  so  wrapped  up  that 
they  were  not  willing  to  leave  it  without  com- 
petent oversight. 

To  the  Board's  proposition  that  Mrs.  Mateer 
should  go  in  advance,  she  demurred,  saying: 
"First,  the  Chinese  have  long  thought  it  Mr. 
Mateer's  duty  to  visit  his  mother.  Indeed,  their 
ideas  of  filial  and  conjugal  duty  require  that  if 
we  cannot  both  go  together,  I  should  wait  until 
my  husband  has  gone  and  returned  ;  so  my  going 
first  might  demoralize  the  Church.  Second,  I  am 
so  healthy-looking  an  invalid,  I  fear  that  my 
going  home  for  so  long  a  time  would  be  a  stum- 
bling-block to  the  churches.  Third,  I  cannot  be 
spared  two  whole  years  unless  absolutely  neces- 

156 


^ 


'^^p 


^^^^ 


MRS.    MATEER  OX    HER  FIRST  VISIT  TO  THE 

HOMELAND.    AFTER    FIFTEEN    YEARS 

ON  T?IE  FIELD 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    157 

sary,  and  it  cannot  be  proven  till  tried  that  so 
much  time  is  necessary.  Fourth,  we  propose  to 
take  a  vacation  of  a  year  and  a  half,  that  is,  three 
years  for  both.  Mr.  Mateer  needs  that  much 
time  as  surely  as  I  do.  The  law  allows  the  wife 
but  one-third.  The  Board  proposes  that  I  have 
two-thirds  of  the  vacation,  which  is  clearly  illegal. 
Fifth,  Mr.  Mateer' s  work  is  already  as  much  as 
he  can  do  in  justice  to  himself.  I  think  it  would 
be  ungenerous,  after  all  these  years  of  labor,  to 
lay  upon  him  such  additional  burdens  as  my  ab- 
sence would  involve.  Certainly,  we  must  have 
clearer  light  before  I  will  consent  either  to  leave 
the  school  without  a  competent  superintendent, 
or  to  leave  my  husband  to  bear  the  burden  of  it 
alone."  We  may  fairly  infer  from  some  of  her  let- 
ters that  for  personal  reasons,  also,  she  was  loath 
to  leave  her  husband  for  so  long  a  time,  and  this, 
no  doubt,  unconsciously  weighed  with  her. 
When  in  Chefoo  in  search  of  health  she  says  :  **  I 
have  regular  fits  of  homesickness  every  Wednes- 
day when  the  messenger  comes  from  Tengchow, 
and  in  spite  of  all  my  advantage,  am  only  get- 
ting weaker  and  thinner  every  week.  Well,  the 
truth  is,  I  would  rather  see  Calvin  than  Peking, 
Shanghai,  Japan,  and  forty  other  places.  I  can- 
not even  have  the  satisfaction  of  a  good  cry,  for 
Calvin  would  hear  of  it,  and  how  worried  he 
would  be  to  hear  of  tears  that  he  could  not  wipe 
away ! " 


158     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

At  length  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wherry,  who  had  just 
returned  from  furlough,  came  to  take  charge  of 
the  school,  which  rendered  it  possible  for  them 
to  take  their  vacation.  Mrs.  Mateer  had  finally 
been  prevailed  upon  to  go  some  months  in  ad- 
vance of  her  husband,  leaving  him  to  put  through 
the  press  in  Shanghai  some  important  literary 
work.  While  their  outward  passage  across  the 
Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans  and  China  Sea  re- 
quired about  six  months,  their  return  across  the 
Pacific  Ocean  occupied  but  one  month.  When 
crossing  the  continent  a  fellow  passenger  became 
acquainted  with  Mrs.  Mateer  and  found  after  a 
day  or  two  that  she  had  been  in  China.  Being 
a  man  of  the  world,  a  disbeliever  in  missions, 
and  withal  hating  the  Chinese,  he  freely  ex- 
pressed his  opinion  that  no  Chinaman  could 
become  a  real  Christian.  She  did  not  argue  on 
general  principles,  but  told  the  following  story : 
*'  One  of  our  converts  of  some  years'  standing,  a 
middle-aged  farmer,  called  to  see  me  and  tell  of 
his  welfare.  After  some  conversation  and  ex- 
hortation, I  asked  him  what  evidence  he  had 
that  he  was  a  Christian.  He  spoke  of  his  faith  in 
Christ,  etc.,  but  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  real, 
concrete  proof.  After  a  moment's  reflection,  he 
said  :  *  I  believe  I  have  a  little  proof.  When  I 
used  to  clear  the  stones  off  my  fields,  because  it 
was  most  convenient,  I  just  tossed  them  over 
into  my  neighbor's  fields,  but  I  don't  do  that 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    159 

now.  I  carry  and  throw  them  into  a  gully  or 
some  other  place,  where  they  will  not  harm  any- 
body.' "  Her  listener  looked  thoughtful  for  a 
moment  and  then  said,  "  There  are  a  good  many 
Christians  in  America  who  I  fear  would  find  it 
difficult  to  give  as  good  an  account  of  the  effect 
of  their  religion."  He  said  no  more  against  the 
Chinese  or  against  religion. 

After  leaving  Omaha,  a  brisk,  young  com- 
mercial traveller  got  into  conversation  with  her. 
He  found  her  so  well  informed  on  general  topics 
that  he  finally  asked  her  for  what  house  she  was 
travelling.  She  told  him  that  she  was  travelling 
for  the  Lord  and  had  been  out  on  a  fifteen  years' 
tour  in  China. 

She  went  directly  to  her  old  home  at  Dela- 
ware, Ohio.  Her  dear  old  uncle, ,  John  Cun- 
ningham, and  his  wife,  with  whom  she  as  a  girl 
had  made  her  home,  were  still  there  to  welcome 
her,  and  her  sister,  her  cousins  and  many  friends 
of  her  girlhood  were  overjoyed  to  see  her  once 
more.  After  visiting  her  own  relatives  and  those 
of  her  husband,  although  still  far  from  well,  she 
spent  much  time  going  from  place  to  place, 
making  missionary  addresses  to  societies  and 
bands,  arranging  three  or  four  addresses  a  week. 
In  her  speaking  she  was  clear  in  all  her  state- 
ments, no  embellishments,  no  coloring  for  effect. 
Yet  she  looked  on  the  bright  side  and  was  in- 
tensely in  earnest,  striving  to  set  forth  the  needs 


i6o     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

of  the  Chinese,  especially  their  spiritual  need, 
and  impressing  all  who  heard  her  with  the 
longing  in  her  own  soul  for  their  salvation.  Her 
captivating  smile,  her  sparkling  eyes  and  ani- 
mated face  could  not  be  forgotten,  nor  the  inter- 
est with  which  her  quiet  humor,  her  Scriptural 
allusions,  her  vigor  and  charm,  invested  the  tell- 
ing of  her  story  ;  but  that  which  remained  longest 
with  those  who  heard  her  was  her  simplicity,  her 
single-mindedness  and  the  Christlikeness  of  her 
spirit.  Her  speaking  was  so  effective  that  she 
had  more  invitations  than  she  could  possibly 
accept.  Her  influence  was  felt  markedly  in  the 
homes  where  she  was  entertained ;  but  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  visiting  and  much  conversa- 
tion, probably  late  into  the  night,  were  a  great 
strain  on  her  weak  head  and  back.  She  was 
the  means  of  influencing  various  young  people 
to  consecrate  their  life  to  mission  work. 

After  an  exhausting  winter,  which  Mrs.  Mateer 
had  hoped  might  be  one  of  rest  and  recupera- 
tion, she  found  a  refuge  at  Clifton  Springs,  that 
quiet  home  for  worn  missionaries.  She  speaks 
of  the  many  social  demands  of  loving  friends 
and  adds  :  **  In  three  months  of  this  supposed 
resting  time,  I  have  written  over  one  hundred 
letters  and  more  than  as  many  postals."  She 
continues :  **  This  week  I  have  been  reading 
over  old  letters.  They  showed  that  we  worried 
much  uselessly,  and  worked  unwisely,  and  that 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    i6i 

we  often  'tithed  mint,  anise,  and  cummin'  in 
our  zeal,  and  '  neglected  weightier  things '  in 
our  ignorance ;  but  they  show  a  great  deal  of 
fresh  enthusiasm  which  I  wish  we  could  have 
kept." 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  regret  that  no  record 
was  kept  of  speeches  made  while  at  home,  but 
her  thought  upon  the  relation  of  the  missionary 
to  the  home  church  is  set  forth  in  the  extract 
given  below : 

"  I  have  received  a  letter  containing  these  sen- 
tences :  *  I  wish  our  hearts  could  be  stirred  up  to 
some  due  sense  of  the  demands  of  the  heathen 
upon  us,  as  you  who  are  surrounded  by  them 
see  and  feel  it.  Please  write  to  us  something  to 
rouse  our  waning  zeal.'  We  frequently  receive 
similar  requests  from  many  different  places,  and 
occasionally  strong  appeals  from  our  secretaries, 
to  help  them  supply  the  demand  for  something 
to  stimulate  the  interest  of  the  Church.  The 
touching  and  stirring  account  of  the  conversion 
of  an  African  boy,  as  given  in  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary a  few  years  ago,  by  one  connected  with 
the  Zulu  Mission,  was  pointed  out  to  us  as  an 
example  of  what  good  could  be  done  by  well 
written  accounts  of  incidents  we  meet  with  in 
our  work. 

**  Now,  there  is  not  one  of  us  who  would  not 
be  thankful  and  delighted,  and  inexpressibly 
gratified,  and  perhaps  Ha  who  knows  our  hearts 


i62     CHARACTER.BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

best  sees  that  in  order  to  be  truthful  we  must 
add,  mightily  elated,  to  send  a  touching  story  by 
every  mail.  But  whatever  may  be  the  reason, 
there  are  very  few  such  stories  to  write.  We 
missionaries  are  the  happiest  people  in  the  world, 
but  not  chiefly,  nor  frequently,  because  of  the 
zeal  enkindled  by  great  and  startling  successes. 
Missionary  work  is  much  like  teaching  and 
preaching  at  home.  Some  souls  are  growing  in 
grace,  some  are  coming  into  the  church,  and 
some  have  gone  home  to  glory.  Good  is  being 
done  all  the  time,  yet  at  times  we  sigh  more  than 
we  rejoice.  When  the  ten  lepers  were  cleansed, 
one  turned  back  to  give  thanks,  but  Christ 
grieved  for  the  nine.  We  almost  forget  the  tens 
that  are  saved  among  the  tens  of  thousands  who 
are  going  down  to  death.  Moreover,  we  find 
those  who,  like  the  Galatians,  *  run  well '  for  a 
time,  and  then  our  rejoicing  on  their  account  is 
turned  into  mourning.  We  soon  learn  to  *  re- 
joice with  trembling,'  and  fear  to  tell  our  joy, 
lest  it  turn  into  disappointment.  Sometimes  we 
do  like  David,  '  number  the  people '  ;  and  like 
David,  we  have  to  mourn  our  folly. 

**  This  work  taxes  not  only  our  minds  and  our 
bodies,  but  our  hearts,  and  that  all  the  time.  It 
is  hard  for  the  stream  to  rise  above  the  fountain. 
It  is  hard  for  the  extremities  to  be  warmer  than 
the  heart.  It  is  hard  for  the  picket  guards  to  be 
more  enthusiastic  than  the  army.     You  at  home 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    163 

are  the  fountain ;  we  are  the  stream.  You  are 
the  heart ;  we  are  the  extremities.  You  are  the 
army ;  we  are  the  pickets.  We  are  almost  cut 
off  from  the  Christian  and  civilized  world.  Our 
friends  become  absorbed  in  their  interests,  and 
cares,  and  new  friendships,  and  one  by  one  forget 
us,  till  the  mail  almost  ceases  to  bring  us  any  but 
mother's  letters  and  business  letters.  By  and  by, 
mother  closes  her  dim  eyes,  and  folds  her  trem- 
bling hands  in  her  long  sleep,  while  we  are  far 
away  ;  and  so  almost  the  last  link  is  broken  that 
binds  us  to  a  Christian  land. 

"  Appeals  come  to  us  for  information.  The 
Church  has  a  right  to  know  what  we  are  doing 
and  what  are  the  results.  We  are  watchmen  as 
well  as  workmen.  We  answer  as  fully  as  time 
will  allow,  but  there  comes  no  response.  A  Sun- 
day-school or  society  offers  to  aid  in  the  support 
of  a  particular  station,  or  a  congregation  offers 
to  support  a  missionary,  and  all  wish  frequent 
and  regular  letters  to  keep  up  the  interest.  We 
write  our  regular  letter,  they  send  their  regular 
contribution  but  there  comes  with  it  no  word  of 
sympathy  or  cheer.  All  is  silent  as  the  grave. 
Does  our  zeal  never  wane?  Does  <9^/!r  interest 
never  flag  ?  Do  our  hearts  never  faint  ?  Are  we 
in  no  danger  of  growing  weary  in  well  doing  ? 
Who  writes  letters  to  rouse  our  waning  zeal  ? 
Who  cheers  our  drooping  spirits  ?  In  Christian 
lands,  full  of  Bibles  and  churches  and  Sunday- 


i64     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

schools,    with   thousands   of  praying   men  and 
women,  we  sing: 


"  *  Is  this  vile  world  a  friend  to  grace 
To  help  us  on  to  God  ?  ' 


"  What,  then,  must  the  heathen  world  be  ? 
You  must  not  think  it  is  only  the  Chinese  Chris- 
tians who  are  affected  by  the  surrounding 
heathenism.  It  tries  the  grace  of  the  best  and 
strongest  of  us.  How  can  a  few  rushlights 
light  up  this  dense  darkness  ?  Much  less  can 
they  shine  out  to  light  and  stimulate  those  who 
live  in  the  brightness  of  the  gospel  day.  Is  not 
the  wonder  rather  that  they  are  not  quenched  in 
the  darkness  ? 

"  My  sisters,  the  conversion  of  the  world  is  not 
a  job  to  be  finished  in  a  year  or  two,  by  a  spurt 
now  and  then,  when  some  extra  excitement  stirs 
up  our  enthusiasm.  It  is  a  stupendous  work 
that  will  require  the  concentrated  and  consecrated 
energies  of  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  of  every 
name  and  nation,  and  for  many  long  years  to 
come.  The  only  way  to  accomplish  it  is  for  the 
whole  Church  to  go  at  the  work  in  obedience  to 
our  Lord's  command,  with  a  just  estimate  of  its 
immensity  and  with  a  strong  determination  on 
the  part  of  each  member  to  work  on  until  he  falls 
at  his  post.  There  is  no  discharge  in  this  war- 
fare, and  it  will  not  be  ended  in  our  day. 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    165 

"  A  geography  will  be  the  best  help  to  a  just 
estimate  of  its  immensity  ;  and  the  Bible  the  only 
help  to  a  just  estimate  of  its  difficulty  and  im- 
portance, because  that  alone  reveals  to  us  the 
depravity  of  the  human  heart  and  the  value  of 
human  souls.  When  our  zeal  wanes,  let  us  re- 
new it  in  our  closets.  When  our  courage  fails, 
let  us  strengthen  ourselves  in  the  Lord  our  God. 
When  our  labors  seem  fruitless,  let  us  go  to  the 
sure  promises.  When  we  are  tempted  to  despair 
by  reason  of  the  ingratitude,  opposition,  and 
hatred  of  those  to  whom  we  are  giving  our 
money,  our  labor,  and  our  lives,  let  us  look  unto 
Jesus,  our  great  example,  and  endure,  as  He  did, 
unto  the  end,  'for  the  joy  that  is  set  before  us.' 
We  will  try  to  tell  you  all  the  stirring  facts  the 
Lord  gives  us,  and  give  you  all  the  information 
our  strength  and  time  will  allow,  but  do  not  de- 
pend upon  us  for  a  motive,  or  the  measure  of 
your  zeal  and  consecration.  No  motive  but  a 
loving  obedience  to  Christ  will  sustain  either  you 
or  us  to  the  end  of  this  mighty  work.  May  the 
whole  Church  in  all  lands  be  soon  brought  up  to 
the  requisite  degree  of  faith  and  consecration." 

The  following  is  a  letter  written  to  a  young 
lady  whom  Mrs.  Mateer  had  known  eight  years 
before,  inviting  her  to  join  the  Tengchow  circle  : 

•*  I  am  writing  because  I  have  something  special 
to  say  to  you — to  ask  of  you.     But  first  promise 


i66    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

not  to  decide  yea  or  nay  until  you  have  looked 
at  the  question  seriously,  spread  it  out  before 
Jesus,  and  let  Him  decide  it  for  you.  He  will  do 
it  if  you  are  really  and  heartily  willing. 

"  My  proposition  is,  that  you  give  yourself  to 
the  foreign  missionary  work.  I  know  it  is  a  very 
serious  undertaking  for  a  young  woman  who  has 
never  been  separated  from  her  parents  even  for  a 
few  months,  and  especially  one  who  has  gone 
abroad  but  little,  to  start  on  a  journey  half-way 
around  the  globe  to  spend  her  life  with — for  the 
most  part — strangers. 

"  But  that  is  not  the  point  from  which  to  look 
at  this  question.  It  is  this:  What  has  Jesus 
done  for  you,  what  is  He  doing  day  by  day,  and 
what  do  you  yet  hope  from  His  rich  grace  ?  In 
view  of  all  this,  what  are  you  willing  to  do  for 
Him  ?  What  sacrifice  can  you  make  for  Him  to 
be  at  all  compared  with  the  sacrifice  He  has 
made  for  you  ?  The  great  command,  *  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature,'  is  to  every  child  of  God,  even  to  the 
youngest,  the  weakest,  the  most  ignorant.  The 
question  each  must  decide  is,  '  How  am  /  called 
to  help  on  this  great  work  ? '  It  may  lie  in  going 
to  teach  the  heathen ;  it  may  be  by  giving  up 
a  very  dear  friend  to  go ;  it  may  be  chiefly 
by  a  life  of  prayer  and  cheerful  devotion  to  the 
humblest  duties.  I  think  the  first  is  perhaps 
your  duty,  and  my  object  in  writing  is  to  suggest 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    i6; 

the  subject  to  you,  and  if  possible  aid  you  in 
making  a  decision. 

"  One  reason  I  think  you  are  called  to  the 
missionary  work  is  your  fondness  for  teaching, 
and  the  success  which  has  attended  your  efforts. 
The  whole  missionary  work,  as  far  as  the  human 
agent  is  concerned,  is  teaching ;  and  I  have 
known  no  instance  of  a  successful  teacher  failing 
in  this  work.  This,  then,  is  the  great  qualification 
God  has  given  you.  If  your  gift  is  fully  conse- 
crated to  Jesus,  you  are  fit  to  be  a  missionary. 
If  it  is  not  consecrated,  you  will  not  be,  in  the 
highest  sense,  a  successful  teacher  at  home. 

**  Many  people  have  vague  ideas  as  to  what 
missionary  work  is.  Missionaries  and  their  work 
are  to  them  surrounded  by  a  kind  of  religious 
romance  which  seems  very  attractive  in  the  dim 
distance,  but  they  have  very  little  living  interest 
in  the  true  picture.  Nothing  can  be  more  real 
and  practical  than  the  missionary  work — I  might 
add,  more  monotonous,  but  it  is  just  the  monot- 
ony of  school  life,  teaching  the  same  things  over 
and  over  to  one  class  after  another,  year  after 
year, — the  same  lessons,  but  the  class  is  ever 
varying,  and  each  individual  learner  brings  new 
interest  and  new  incentives  to  exertion. 

"  As  in  teaching  at  home,  so  it  is  here  ;  some- 
times one  is  encouraged  to  enthusiasm,  some- 
times ready  to  faint.  Here,  as  there,  faith  and 
perseverance  will  bring  you  through.     The  mis- 


i68     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

sionary  life  is  one  of  toil  and  many  trials,  but  it 
is  by  no  means  all  shadow  ;  indeed,  it  is  far  more 
nearly  all  sunshine. 

"  You  will  find  the  work  in  an  important  sense 
its  own  reward.  Though  you  will  see  but  little 
of  society,  it  will  be  made  up  of  men  and  women 
of  education  and  refinement,  many  of  whom 
would  adorn  any  society.  You  can  have  all  the 
comforts  of  a  plain  family  at  home.  You  will 
find  in  the  customs  of  these  Oriental  people  many 
striking  comments  on  the  Bible,  and  much  of  in- 
terest. Learning  a  new  language  will  improve 
your  mind. 

"  There  will,  of  course,  be  much  opposition  to 
your  devoting  yourself  to  this  work.  You  will 
often  hear,  *  Why  go  away  there  ?  Are  there  not 
heathen  enough  at  home  ? '  Of  course  there  are. 
Were  there  not  many  unbelieving  Jews  in  Judea 
when  Christ  bade  His  disciples  go  into  all  the 
world?  Were  there  not  heathen  enough  in  and 
around  Antioch,  when  Paul  and  Silas  were  sent 
out  thence  as  missionaries  ?  Were  there  no  more 
heathen  in  Asia,  when  Paul  was  called  into  Mace- 
donia ?  What  claims  have  American  heathen  on 
you  that  Chinese  or  Hindu  heathen  have  not? 

"  In  the  United  States  there  must  be  at  least 
one  minister  for  every  two  or  three  thousand  per- 
sons, besides  all  the  Sabbath-school  teachers  and 
other  Christian  men  and  women  who  are  work- 
ing and  praying  for  the  unconverted.     In  China, 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    169 

counting  ministers,  and  male  and  female  teach- 
ers, native  and  foreign,  there  is  scarcely  one  re- 
ligious teacher  of  any  grade  for  a  million. 

''  Women  in  Christian  lands  can  never  know 
what  they  owe  the  Bible  until  they  see  the  deep, 
utter  degradation, — mental,  moral  and  physical 
— of  heathen  women.  And  the  wretched  heathen 
women  are  our  sisters,  as  good  by  nature  as  we, 
and  as  deserving  of  God's  favor.  If,  then,  we 
have  been  singled  out  to  receive  such  blessings, 
shall  we  '  deny  to  them  the  lamp  of  Hfe '  ?  If  the 
watchman  failed  to  warn  the  city,  the  guilt  was 
his.     (See  Ezekiel,  thirty-third  chapter.) 

"  I  could  write  a  volume  on  the  need  of  teach- 
ers here,  especially  earnest,  self-denying  women. 
How  shall  I  compress  it  into  the  space  of  one 
letter !  I  can  only  refer  you  to  the  first  chapter 
of  Romans  for  a  description  of  all  heathen  peo- 
ple, and  to  the  tenth  chapter  as  to  the  way  they 
are  to  be  brought  out  of  it." 

After  advising  the  young  lady  to  seek  all  light 
possible  on  the  subject,  she  says :  "  But  I  advise 
you  not  to  consult  too  much  with  human  friends, 
especially  with  those  who  have  never  given  the 
subject  a  serious  thought.  After  eight  years  of 
trial,  and  an  average  share  of  work  and  weari- 
ness, and  all  the  ordinary  ills  of  this  kind  of  life, 
I  have  never  for  one  moment  regretted  entering 
upon  it.  The  only  regret  I  have  ever  felt  was 
that  I  did  not  begin  earlier,  that  I  might  have 


I/O    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

had  more  years  to  devote  to  it.  My  sister  is  of 
the  same  mind. 

"  Separation  from  your  family  and  friends  will 
be  a  severe  trial,  but  He  who  calls  for  the  sacri- 
fice will  sustain  you  and  them.  Should  He  call 
you  away  from  earth,  could  any  human  love  stay 
you  ?  Should  He  call  you  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  to  serve  Him,  may  any  mortal 
oppose  His  will  ? 

"This  question  must  be  decided  by  yourself 
in  your  closet.  Do  not  say  *  No '  unless  you  can 
give  a  reason  which  you  are  sure  will  stand  at 
the  bar  of  God ;  nor  '  Yes '  unless  you  can  also 
give  a  reason.  Dr.  Plummer  says,  *  It  is  a  sin 
to  run  when  we  are  not  called,  as  much  as  not  to 
run  when  we  are  called.'  '* 

With  regard  to  the  position  of  a  missionary's 
wife,  this  is  Mrs.  Mateer's  feeling :  "  Though  a 
missionary's  wife  may  from  whatever  cause  be 
unable  to  do  much  direct  missionary  work  her- 
self, yet  if  she  have  the  right  spirit,  her  deep 
sympathetic  interest  will  be  a  great  help  to  her 
husband  ;  whereas  one  lacking  this  spirit  will  be  a 
decided  handicap,  if  indeed  she  do  not  cause  his 
complete  and  pathetic  failure." 

Concerning  single  women  she  writes  :  **  The 
inconsiderate  haste  with  which  some  women 
have  made  up  their  minds  to  come  to  China 
and  their  failure  to  appreciate  the  work  to  be 


STIMULATING  THE  HOME  CHURCH    i/i 

done,  and  the  trials  to  be  borne,  have  astonished 
me.  This  has  made  me  feel  guilty,  that  when  I 
had  opportunity  to  talk  with  young  people  at 
home  I  did  not  enlarge  and  insist  much  on  the 
solemn  responsibility  of  undertaking  this  work, 
presenting  it  as  a  warfare  in  which  there  can  be 
few  furloughs,  and  no  honorable  discharge  but 
death.  I  do  not  forget  the  longing  that  every 
true  woman  has  for  a  home,  for  I  have  been  a 
homeless  orphan ;  nor  would  I  underestimate  the 
happiness  of  married  life — no  happy  wife  can. 
I  know,  too,  that  it  is  no  light  thing  for  a  woman 
to  leave  friends  and  home  and  all  the  blessings 
of  a  Christian  land,  and  go  out  alone,  to  bear  the 
toils  and  cares,  the  responsibilities  and  disap- 
pointments, the  weariness  and  loneliness  of  a 
missionary  life  in  China.  But  God  will  give 
grace  even  for  this  to  every  one  whom  He  calls 
to  it.  They  who  endure  to  the  end  will  find  deep 
and  abiding  happiness  in  this  work." 

"One  woman,  after  twelve  years  of  single- 
handed  toil  in  this  place,  said  on  her  death-bed : 
'  If  Christians  at  .home  only  knew  the  blessedness 
of  this  work,  there  would  be  nobody  willing  to 
stay  at  home.'  A  whole-hearted  devotion  to  it 
will  secure  this  happiness ;  nothing  else  will. 

*'A  young  woman  who  offers  herself  for  this 
work  should  be  very  sure  that  her  temperament 
and  sense  of  duty  will,  through  grace,  sustain  her 
to  the  end.     She  should  know  her  own  mind 


172     CHARACTER-BUiLDlNG  IN  CHINA 

and  heart  and  body  before  she  decides  to  be  a 
single  missionary.  She  should  come  with  the 
simple  and  honest  purpose  of  devoting  her  whole 
life  to  the  work,  and  she  should  throw  all  her 
energies  into  it,  expecting  to  bear  her  share  of 
the  burdens,  and  to  find  her  chief  happiness  in 
the  work." 


XIII 

SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS 

THIS  life  of  gracious  beauty  and  blessed 
result  drew  painfully  to  its  earthly  end- 
ing. It  was  on  February  i8,  1898,  after 
fourteen  weeks  of  continuous  and  intense  suffer- 
ing that  the  grateful  release  came.  During  the 
previous  winter  Mrs.  Mateer  had  been  compelled 
to  undergo  a  surgical  operation.  From  this  she 
gradually  recovered.  But  during  the  last  few 
years  there  had  been  many  periods  of  complete 
prostration,  followed  by  shorter  and  shorter  times 
of  activity,  until  in  November,  1897,  she  lay  down 
never  to  rise  again.  The  **  silver  cord  "  had  un- 
dergone such  a  long,  continuous  strain  that  noth- 
ing medical  skill  could  suggest  could  save  it 
from  being  "loosened."  The  rheumatic  pains 
subsided  after  the  eighth  week ;  but  the  nervous 
exhaustion  increased  more  and  more.  She  was 
weary  unto  death,  and  restless  in  the  extreme. 
Sleep  brought  neither  rest  nor  refreshment,  and 
constant  changing  of  position  no  relief.  Her 
appetite  failed,  and  the  difficulty  of  taking  nour- 
ishment increased.  Thus  she  continued  suffer- 
ing, and  waiting,  and  longing  for  the  end. 
Throughout  all  these  weeks  of  physical  agony 

173 


SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS       175 

students  were  home  on  vacation,  the  large  church 
was  crowded  with  sorrowing  Chinese,  both 
Christian  and  heathen,  especially  women,  who 
followed  to  the  grave,  knowing  that  the  friend 
who  loved  them  best  was  gone.  One  of  their 
number  voiced  with  trembling  emphasis  the  com- 
mon feeling  when  he  said :  "  Alas,  we  have  all 
lost  the  support  upon  which  we  leaned."  A 
young  college  teacher  in  his  address  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  Mrs.  Mateer  had  done  what 
no  other  woman  had  done  or  could  do.  His 
praise  was  excessive,  perhaps,  but  it  was  sincere, 
and  within  the  sphere  of  his  knowledge  it  was 
true.  He  said  that  a  great  part  of  the  success  of 
the  college  was  due  to  her,  and  that  without  her 
it  could  not  have  succeeded  as  it  had. 

One  said :  '*  When  a  missionary  dies,  many 
Chinese  Christians  look  up  through  their  tears 
with  rejoicing,  and  thank  God  that  a  true  friend 
now  awaits  them  in  heaven.  When  I  think  of 
Mrs.  Mateer  I  seem  to  see  her  standing  at  the 
portals  of  the  shining  gates,  welcoming  with  her 
rare,  sweet  smile  the  poor,  hesitating,  timid  soul 
of  a  Chinese  Christian." 

Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Mateer,  September  28, 
1908,  her  remains  were  removed  to  Chefoo, 
where  she  lies  beside  her  husband  in  the  beauti- 
ful cemetery  on  the  hill. 

Mrs.  Mateer,  though  dead,  still  lives  in  the 
transformed    lives   of   the  many  young  men  to 


176     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

whom  her  touch  imparted  the  virtue  of  Christ- 
like ideals  and  hopes,  in  the  strength  of  which 
they  axe  laboring,  suffering  and  praying  for  their 
own  people.  She  lives  in  the  earnest  words  she 
spoke  by  the  wayside,  in  the  village  and  in  the 
home ;  in  the  pervasive  influence  of  a  noble  life 
that  widens  and  deepens  as  the  years  roll  on. 
No  pen  can  trace  the  fruitage  of  a  life  so  well 
lived  and  a  work  so  well  done.  Even  the  analy- 
sis of  a  character  of  such  richness  is  a  difficult 
undertaking.  As  one  thinks  of  her,  so  many 
lovely  qualities  flash  their  light  upon  one  :  her 
sweet  temper ;  her  delightful  sense  of  humor, 
proving  often  so  serviceable  a  support  to  her  pa- 
tience and  courage  ;  her  tact  and  practical  re- 
sourcefulness ;  her  gentleness ;  and  along  with  a 
firmness  and  decision  that  could  seem  almost 
stern,  the  spontaneity,  the  touch  of  gaiety,  the 
welling  up  of  fresh  interest  that  kept  for  her  to 
the  end  the  heart  of  a  child. 

Of  her  more  marked  characteristics  we  venture 
to  say  that  self-forgetfulness  should  stand  pre- 
eminent. Even  during  those  long  weeks  of  suf- 
fering and  weariness  unto  death,  the  first  thought 
of  Mrs.  Mateer  was  not  for  herself,  but  for  those 
who  cared  for  her.  Her  soft,  sweetly  spoken 
"  Thank  you  "  for  the  slightest  service  rendered, 
will  remain  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  priv- 
ileged to  be  with  her  like  a  rare  fragrance. 
Equally  touching  and  tender  were  her  words  of 


SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS       177 

exhortation  to  every  Chinese  friend  who  came  to 
her  bedside.  When  her  mind  was  w^andering 
she  would  bring  it  back  with  a  mighty  effort,  and 
give  just  the  right  word  to  the  right  one.  Usu- 
ally the  burden  of  her  message  was  the  sinful- 
ness of  sin,  and  Christ's  pardoning  love.  Many 
prayers  were  offered  for  her,  especially  by  the 
young  men  who  had  been  under  her  instruction. 
She  constantly  desired  that  these  prayers  might 
be  answered  in  blessings  on  the  heads  of  those 
who  offered  them. 

Her  husband  says  •  "  I  started  to  Weihsien  by 
previous  engagement  on  the  nineteenth  of  August 
to  teach  in  the  theological  class.  I  did  not  know 
how  badly  my  wife  was  feeling  at  the  time.  She 
held  back  her  weakness  and  nervousness  from 
me,  lest  I  should  be  hindered  in  doing  the  im- 
portant work  I  was  going  to  Weihsien  to  do. 
All  the  while  she  kept  writing  hopeful  letters, 
thinking  she  would  be  better  as  the  weather 
should  grow  cool  and  bracing.  But  her  appetite 
and  her  strength  continued  to  fail  gradually  until 
she  had  to  go  to  bed.  Her  niece  took  the  re- 
sponsibility of  telegraphing  me,  when  I  came 
home  as  soon  as  possible."  What  an  eloquent 
tribute  !  As  the  previous  pages  attest,  it  was 
simply  in  keeping  with  the  principle  of  self-for- 
getfulness  that  had  ruled  in  all  her  life,  and  had 
made  her  a  Christlike  power  among  the  Chinese, 
who  are  so  quick  of  discernment. 


1/8    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

A  fellow  missionary  says  :  ''  The  memory  of 
Mrs.  Mateer  is  very  tender,  full  of  all  that  is  help- 
ful and  true.  Her  utterly  unselfish  life,  her 
Christlike  character  and  her  inspiring  devotion 
to  His  cause  and  service,  endeared  her  to  all." 
An  old  friend  writes  :  "  Our  heavenly  Father,  for 
a  reason  we  do  not  understand,  which  neverthe- 
less we  know  was  lovingly  wise,  never  gave  to 
Mrs.  Mateer  the  joy  of  motherhood  ;  but  He 
gave  her  in  large  measure  the  heart  of  mother- 
hood, which  spent  the  rich  fullness  of  its  mother- 
ing love  upon  her  schoolboys,  and  indeed  upon 
every  one  with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  We 
rarely  see  a  heart  so  much  *  at  leisure  from  itself, 
to  soothe  and  sympathize.'  Freely  and  in  utter 
self-forgetfulness,  she  loved,  ministered  to  and 
watched  over  the  hundreds  of  Chinese  *  sons ' 
and  '  daughters '  whom  God  gave  to  her." 

Humility  of  spirit  must  come  next — the  rare 
gifts  and  graces,  and  the  manifold  achievements 
kept  by  this  "clothing  of  humility"  free  from 
the  stains  of  earth.  What  charm,  and  what 
power  in  it  all !  It  was  Mrs.  Mateer's  habit  to 
speak  very  humbly  of  her  own  attainments  in  the 
Christian  life  and  her  share  in  the  work  accom- 
plished. While  in  the  home-land  she  once  said : 
"  I  have  been  able  to  do  so  little — it  all  comes 
down  to  *  being  a  neighbor*  to  those  Chinese 
boys  and  women."  The  year  before  her  death 
she  wrote :  "  Lately  I  have  enjoyed  a  sense  of 


SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS       179 

God's  nearness,  and  Jesus  has  seemed  nearer 
than  ever  before  ;  yet  I  do  not  enjoy  prayer  as  I 
ought  to  dj.  Indeed  I  am  a  poor,  weak  Chris- 
tian— very,  to  be  filling  so  responsible  a  place. 
I  have  always  been  credited  above  my  deserts. 
That  is  one  of  the  rewards,  perhaps,  of  being  so 
far  away." 

Little  haG  been  said  about  Mrs.  Mateer's 
prayer-life,  partly  because  of  its  sacredness,  and 
partly  because  of  her  self-effacement  and  distaste 
for  devotional  display.  In  speaking  of  consecra- 
tion she  thus  expresses  herself :  "  Somehow  I  be- 
lieve in  the  kind  that  like  charity  *  vaunteth  not  it- 
self.' I  have  not  seen  that  God  sends  that  kind 
so  much  through  holiness  and  consecration  meet- 
ings as  through  other  channels,  mostly  painful, 
but  sometimes  only  the  common  effects  of  grace 
^on  peculiarly  adapted  characteristics.  Perhaps 
it  takes  more  grace  to  make  some  of  us  decent 
Christians  than  to  make  others  eminent  saints." 
But,  in  proportion  as  she  distrusted  her  own 
strength,  did  she  rest  her  faith  in  the  power  of 
prayer.  Her  sister,  of  kindred  spirit,  gathered  a 
company  of  us  young  missionaries  around  her 
dying  bed  in  order  to  urge  us  not  to  make  the 
fatal  mistake  of  allowing  work  to  crowd  out  the 
time  necessary  for  the  cultivation  of  personal 
piety.  Mrs.  Mateer  says  :  "  What  a  comfort  that 
so  many  loved  ones  pray  for  us  and  our  work. 
Many  pray  for  the  work,  and  never  think  that 


i8o    CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

the  workers  are  poor  sinners  like  themselves, 
needing  constant  supplies  of  grace,  and  therefore 
needing  the  prayers  of  the  Church."  Again : 
**  I  feel  sure  the  success  we  have  achieved  is 
largely  in  answer  to  faithful,  fervent  prayer  at 
home,  and  I  wonder  sometimes  whether  at  the 
great  day  it  will  not  appear  that  the  believing, 
praying  people  at  home  have  after  all  done  the 
work,  while  we  have  been  getting  the  credit 
for  it." 

Her  capacity  for  devotion  and  enthusiasm 
richly  deserve  mention.  She  put  labor,  and 
strength,  and  heart  into  whatever  she  under- 
took. With  untiring  industry  and  perseverance 
she  wrought,  doing  an  amount  of  work  even 
when  suffering  from  impaired  health  that  would 
have  been  a  credit  to  any  one.  The  influence  of 
all  this  was,  of  course,  very  stimulating.  She  was 
a  good  listener, — all  interested  devotion  to  the 
one  with  whom  she  was  speaking,  so  that  hearts 
were  unburdened  to  her  as  those  of  children  to 
their  mother.  Her  pupils  not  only  loved  and 
honored  her,  but  they  were  led  to  do  their  very 
best  in  every  way  for  her,  and  for  her  approval, 
while  life-enthusiasms  were  kindled  at  the  altar 
of  her  consuming  loyalty  to  Christ  Jesus.  She 
had  a  beautiful  capacity  for  joy  in  simple  things, 
and  a  nature  gifted  in  finding  occasions  for  hap- 
piness and  gratitude.  Of  her  rare  devotion  to 
her  husband  and  her  loyalty  to  all  that  engaged 


SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS       i8i 

him,  it  is  difficult  to  speak.  She  often  hid  her- 
self in  his  work,  and  she  spent  herself  lavishly  for 
all  that  could  further  it.  Speaking  once  to  an 
intimate  friend  of  how  a  true  wife's  heart  thrilled 
as  she  heard  her  husband's  steps,  she  neverthe- 
less led  the  listener's  thought  up  to  '*  Thy  Maker 
is  thy  Husband."  The  human  love  so  precious 
and  beautiful  but  interpreted  the  supreme  devo- 
tion of  her  spirit.  She  was  only  happy  as  "  Hid 
in  Him." 

She  had  a  broad  sympathy  and  an  inexhaust- 
ible charity.  Dr.  EUinwood,  the  great  Board 
secretary,  said  :  **  I  have  for  years  thought  of 
her  as  a  model.  Certainly  without  a  superior 
anywhere,  of  either  sex,  in  the  whole  missionary 
force  which  I  have  known  in  these  twenty -six 
years.  So  full  of  broad  sympathy  and  kindliness, 
so  absolutely  balanced  and  level  in  common 
sense,  so  genuine  in  piety,  so  peace-loving  and 
salutary  in  all  her  relations  to  other  missionaries." 
Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  says :  ''  The  dear  one  who 
has  gone  I  greatly  admired  for  her  quiet  power, 
unwearied  devotion  and  inexhaustible  charity." 
She  fulfilled  PauFs  injunction  in  Philippians  ii.  3, 
where  (as  we  see  by  the  original)  he  counsels  us 
*'  to  lay  our  life  down  like  a  soft  tapestry  carpet, 
in  kindly  thoughts  and  gracious  sympathies  and 
helpful  services,  in  order  that  the  weary,  bruised 
feet  of  other  people  may  find  ease  and  comfort 
on  the  road."     And  God  only  knows  how  for 


i82     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

many  of  the  Chinese  "  the  ways  of  life  are  very 
rough  and  flinty,  and  the  sharp,  jagged  edges  of 
circumstance  cut  the  feet  most  sorely." 

Nor  did  she  lose  touch  with  those  widely  sepa- 
rated from  her.  In  writing  to  a  relative  whose 
marriage  had  taken  her  into  another  denomi- 
nation, and  to  a  distant  home,  Mrs.  Mateer  says  : 
*'  I  would  love  to  see  you  and  your  children.  It 
is  sad  to  think  of  you  so  far  from  your  friends — 
the  circumstances  increase  the  miles.  We  do  not 
read  the  same  papers,  we  do  not  have  the  same 
church  acquaintances,  we  are  not  interested  in 
the  same  special  meetings.  While  it  is  all  the 
Lord's  work,  our  hearts  are  not  so  large  as  His, 
and  able  to  comprehend  so  many  loves  and  in- 
terests. I  have  always  felt  these  things  to  be  a 
bond  or  a  loss  as  the  case  may  be.  Perhaps  all 
this  is  good  for  us  to  draw  us  nearer  our  Saviour 
and  away  from  human  helps.  I  have  always 
been  so  prone  to  trust  in  human  arms.  Let  us 
do  our  best  in  our  own  little  sphere,  watching 
that  we  do  not  grow  narrow  and  hard  ;  watching, 
too,  lest  we  miss  some  of  His  leadings  to  service 
because  it  does  not  come  in  the  line  we  ex- 
pected." 

Her  judgment  was  as  sound  as  her  sympa- 
thies were  broad.  Her  husband  felt  that  her 
counsel  and  her  praise  were  always  to  him  be- 
yond price.  He  consulted  her  on  all  occasions, 
and  he  was  mightily  influenced  and  aided  in  his 


SUNSET  AND  EVENING  BELLS       183 

work  by  her  quick,  unerring  judgment  and  ster- 
ling good  sense.  Indeed,  she  occupied  the  place 
of  counsel-general  both  to  the  missionaries  and 
to  the  Chinese.  Dr.  DuBose  says :  '*  In  her 
great  work  she  was  all  heart,  yet  keeping  a  well- 
balanced  head.  This  is  very  rare."  Another 
says  :  "  She  was  blessed  with  a  level  head,  and 
characterized  by  independence  and  force  of 
character.  She  had  the  advantage  in  her  early 
youth  of  a  thorough  grounding  in  Bible  truths, 
the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  the  religious  works 
found  in  the  Christian  home  seventy  years  ago. 
She  believed  with  all  her  heart  that  the  Gospel  is 
the  *  power  of  God  unto  salvation.'  Having 
made  the  Bible  a  lifelong  study,  she  was  never 
troubled  with  doubts,  or  with  fanciful  interpreta- 
tions.    As  she  believed,  so  she  lived." 

Indeed,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  together  evinced 
a  remarkable  and  sustained  wisdom  in  their 
planning  and  working  for  the  Christian  conquest 
of  China, — a  wisdom  of  forty-seven  years  ago, 
which  the  after  developments  and  the  present 
great  needs  and  changes  serve  only  to  justify 
and  glorify.  They  made  their  aim  the  building 
of  Christian  character,  such  as  would  stand  by  its 
colors  under  all  circumstances,  and  constitute  the 
only  possible  foundation  for  a  renovated  and 
stable  empire.  In  this  they  chose  education,  as, 
for  them,  the  best  way  to  multiply  themselves  in 
influence  and  saving  power.     With  the  ability  to 


1 84     CHARACTER-BUILDING  IN  CHINA 

view  a  constantly  broadening  horizon,  they  gave 
untiring  attention  to  details  and  the  conquering 
of  small  worries.  They  wrought  patiently  and 
quietly  for  a  success  that  has  surely  strengthened 
and  justified  itself  throughout  the  years. 

For  both  these  earnest  souls  **to  live  w^as 
Christ.'^  The  strong  and  beautiful  life  sketched 
in  this  little  volume  drew  its  inspiration  from  the 
Cross.  From  thence  came  the  fragrance  of  its 
graces,  its  abiding  cheerfulness  in  the  midst  of 
suffering  and  exhausting  toil,  its  concentrated 
and  undivided  purpose.  From  thence  came  also 
its  "  burdensome  drain  of  sacrificial  desire,"  and 
in  Christ  was  its  glory  and  its  crown  of  rejoicing. 
Could  Mrs.  Mateer  speak  to  us  now,  she  would 
say,  as  her  living  here  always  said,  *'  Do  all  to 
the  glory  of  God."     She  would  echo  the  words, 

"  Yea,  through   life,  death,  through   sorrow   and 
through  sinning 
Christ  shall  suffice  thee,  for  He  hath  sufficed  ; 
Christ  is  the  end,  for  Christ  was  the  beginning, 
Christ  the  beginning,  for  the  end  is  Christ." 


BIOGRAPHY 


ROBERT  E.  SPEER,  D.  D. 

The  Foreign  Docftor :  "The  Hakim  Sahib" 

A  Biography  of  Joseph  Plumb  Cochran^  M.D.,  of 
Fersia.     Illustrated,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

Dr.  Cochran  came  to  a  position  of  power  in  Western 
Persia  which  made  his  life  as  interesting  as  a  romance.  He 
was  one  of  the  central  figures  in  the  Kurdish  invasion  of 
Persia,  and  was  the  chief  means  of  saving  the  city  of  Ura- 
mia.  In  no  other  biography  is  there  as  full  an  account  of  the 
actual  medical  work  done  by  the  medical  missionary,  and  of 
the  problem  of  the  use  of  the  political  influence  acquired  by 
a  man  of  Dr.   Cochran's  gifts  and  opportunities. 

HENRY  p.   PORTER,  M.D.,  J.g. 

William  Scott  Ament  ^„,f  rK/'.„r«»^ 

Illustrated,  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

A  biography  of  one  of  the  most  honored  missionaries  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  whose  long  and  effective  service  in 
China  has  inscribed  his  name  high  in  the  annals  of  those 
whose  lives  have  been  given  to  the  uplift  of  their  fellowmen. 

MARY  GRIDLEY  ELLINWOOD 

Frank  Field  Ellin  wood     Presby^an  P^lf^oard 

His  Life  and  Work.     Illustrated,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 
A  charming  biography  of  one  of  the  greatest  missionary 
leaders  of  the  Nineteenth   Century. — Robert  E.  Speer, 

ANTONIO  ANDREA  ARRIGHI 

The  Story  of  Antonio  the  Galley  Slave 

With  Portrait,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

"Reads  like  a  romance,  and  the  wonderful  thing  about 
it  is  that  it  is  true.  A  fervid  religious  experience,  a  passion 
for  service  and  good  intellectual  equipment  were  his  splendid 
preparation  for  a  great  missionary  work  among  his  country- 
men in  America." — Zion's  Herald. 

GEORGE  MULLER 

CXt^cwiye^  MnhVr    The  Modern  Apostle  of  Faith 
Oeorge  iVlUUSr,       gy  Frederick  G.  Warne, 

New  Edition,,  including  the  Later  Story  of  the  Bristol  Ori>han. 
HotH*.     Illustrated,  cloth,  net  75c. 

'  ep 
great  and  simple-hearted  apostle." — Christian  Advocate. 

KINGSTON  DE  G RUCHE 

Dr.  Apricot  of  "Heaven-Below" 

Illustrated,  8vo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

"No  one  who  fcas  read  this  book  will  ever  afterwards 
repeat  the  threadbare  objection,  "I  don't  hr^B^v*  in  mi»- 
iiont."— Continent. 


MISSIONARY— TRAVELS 


In  the  Valley  of  the  Nile 

A  Record  of  Missionary  Enterprise  in  Egypt, 
Princeton  Lectures. 
Net.  $1.00.  CHARLES  R.WATSON 

"The  author  carefully  traces  the  early  rapid  spread  of 
Christian  faith  into  ancient  Egypt  and  the  development  of  the 
Coptic  church,  and  the  spread  of  the  Moslem  faith  over  Chris- 
tianized Egypt.  The  earlier  and  more  transient  Moravian 
missionary  efforts  are  described  and  then  the  American  Pres- 
byterian work  which  has  achieved  such  success.  A  map,  index 
and  bibliography  are  appended.  Ihis  is  an  excellent  refer- 
ence book  as  well  as  informing  traveler's  handbook." — Watch' 
man. 


The  Missionary  Enterprise 

A  Concise  History  of  Its  Objects,  Methods  and  Extension. 

Net,  $1.25.  EDWIN  MUNSELL  BLISS 

As  compiler  of  The  Encyclopaedia  of  Missions  and  in  his 
work  as  editor  and  writer  of  special  articles,  the  author 
stored  up  an  immense  amount  of  valuable  knowledge  on  the 
subiect  of  Missions.  The  present  work  is  not  merely  a  re- 
vision of  the  author's  earlier  work,  "The  Concise  History  of 
Missions,"  but  a  thoroughly  re-written  work,  considerably 
extended  as  to  scope  and  method  of  analysis,  and  including 
the  latest  data  obtainable. 


Missionary  Experiences  During  Nineteen 

Centuries      G'^y  Lectures,  jgo7. 

In  press.  W.  T.  WHITLEY 

The  story  of  missions  in  five  continents,  diflFers  from  pre- 
vious works  of  this  character  in  that  it  is  written  from  a  view 
point  entirely  historical.  The  defeats  are  considered  as  fully 
as  the  victories;  pitfalls  to  be  avoided  as  well  as  examples  to 
be    followed. 

Adventures  With  Four-Footed  Folk 

and  Other  Creatures  of  the  Animal  World. 

Illustrated,  $i.oo.  BELLE  M.  BRAIN 

The  author  has  established  a  reputation  through  her  pop- 
•nlar  missionary  readings.  No  one  is  able  to  detect  an  inter- 
esting story  more  quickly.  In  her  latest  work  she  has  selected 
some  of  the  most  thrilling  stories  from  the  mission  field, 
dealing  with  animals  of  all  sort,  from  Egerton  R.  Youngs 
sledge  dogs  ia  the  North  West  to  the  man-eating  tiger  m 
India. 


MISSIONARY— TRAVELS 


The  Call  of  Korea 

Illustrated,  net,  75C  H.  G.  UNDERWOOD 

"Dr.  Underwood  knows  Korea,  its  territory,  its  people, 
and  Its  needs,  and  his  book  has  the  special  value  that  at- 
taches to  expert  judgment.  The  volume  is  packed  with  in- 
formation, but  it  is  written  in  so  agreeable  a  style  that  it  is 
as  attractive  as  a  novel,  and  particularly  well  suited  to 
serve  as  a  guide  to  our  young  people  in  their  study  of  mia- 
fiions." — The  Examiner, 


Things  Korean  a  Collectlpn  of  sketches  and  Anecdotes, 
Alliums  Ai.\jrcau  Diplomatic  and  Missionary. 

Illustrated,  net,  $1.25.  HORACB  N.  ALLEN 

Gathered  from  a  twenty  years*  residence  in  Korea  and  neigh- 
boring countries  by  the  late  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  Korea. 


Breaking  Down  Chinese  Walls 

From  a  Doctor's  Viewpoint. 

Illustrated,  net,  $1.00.  ELLIOTT  I.  OSGOOD 

*'Dr.  Osgood  was  for  eight  years  a  physician  at  Chu 
Cheo,  and  conducted  a  hospital  and  dispensary,  visiting  and 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  villages  round  about.  He  writes 
from  experience.  The  object  is  to  show  the  influence  and 
power  of  the  medical  missionary  service,  and  of  the  daily 
lives  of  the  missionaries  upon  the  natives,  told  in  a  most  in- 
teresting manner  by  the  record  of  the  living  examples."— 
United  Presbyterian. 

Present-Day  Conditions  in  China 

Boards,  net,  50c  MARSHALL  BROOMHALL 

"This  book  is  very  impressive  to  those  who  do  know 
something  of  "present-day  conditions  in  China,"  and  most 
startling  to  those  who  do  not.  Maps,  tables  and  letterpress 
combine  to  give  a  marvelous  presentation  of  facts." — Eugene 
Stock,   Church  Missionary  Society. 

The  New  Horoscope  of  Missions 

Net,  $1.00.  JAMES  S.  DENNIS 

,  "Dr.  Dennis,  who  has  long  been  a  close  student  of  for- 
eign missions,  and  speaks  with  authority,  gives  in  this  volume 
a^  broad  general  view  of  the  present  aspects  of  the  missionary 
situation,  as  foundation  for  'the  new  horoscope'  which  he 
aims  to  give.  The  book  is  made  up  of  lectures  delivered  at 
the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  on  The  John  H.  Con- 
verse Foundation." — Examiner, 


FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


Z.    S.    LOFTIS,  M.  D. 

A  Message  from  Batang 

The    Diary    of    Z.    S.    Loftis,    M.D.      Illustrated, 
l2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 

Dr.  Loftis  went  out  to  Tibet  as  a  medical  missionary  of 
the  Disciples  Church.  His  diary  contains  the  events  of  the 
outgoing  trip  together  with  incidents  of  the  daily  life  of  a, 
missionary   in    this    "closed"    land. 

HON.  WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN 

The  Fruits  of  the  Tree 

i6mo,  boards,  net  35c. 

This  is  the  address  which  Mr.  Bryan  delivered  at  th« 
World's  Missionary  Conference  at  Edinburgh  and  contains 
his  views  on  missions — views  which  are  the  result  of  hit 
personal  and  painstaking  investigation  on   foreign  fields. 

HELEN  S.  DYER 

Pandita  R.amabai 

The  Story  of  Her  Life.     Second  BdHion.     Illus- 
trated, i2mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

"The  story  of  a  wonderful  life,  still  in  the  midcareer  of 
high  usefulness.  'Pandita'  should  be  known  to  all  American 
women." — The   Outlook. 

MINERVA   L.  GUTHAPFEL 

The  Happie^  Girl  in  Korea 

And  Other  Sketches  from  the  Land  of  Morning 
Calm.    Illustrated,  i2nio,  cloth,  net  6gc. 

These  sketch  stories  of  actual  life  in  Korea  by  a  mis- 
donary  of  experience  and  insight  portray  conditions  of  reaJ 
life;  they  combine  humor,  pathos  and  vivid  description. 

/OHN  JACKSON 

Secretary  to  the  Missioji  to  Lepers  in  India  and  the  East. 

Mary  Reed,  Missionary  to  the  Lepers 

New  Bdition.     Illustrated,   i2mo,  cloth,  net  soc.; 
paper,  net  25c. 

G.    T.  B.    DAVIS 

Korea  for  Chri^ 

Illustrated,  paper,  net  25c. 

An  cflFective  report  of  the  recent  revivals  in  Korea  told 
by  an  eye  witness,  who  himself  participated  in  the  work. 


FOREKiN  MJSSlOiNS 


ROBEK I  t.  SFEER  The  Cole  Lectures  for  igiU 

Some  Great  Leaders  in  the  World 

Movement     i^mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

Mr,  Speer  in  his  characteristic  inspiring  way  has  pre- 
sented the  key  note  of  the  lives  of  six  of  the  World's  great- 
est missionaries:  Raymond  Lull,  the  crusading  spirit  in  mis- 
sions; William  Carey,  the  problems  of  the  pioneer;  Alexander 
puff.  Missions  and  Education;  George  Bowen,  the  ascetic 
ideal  in  missions;  John  lyawrence,  politics  and  missions;  and 
Charles  G.   Gordon,  modern  missionary  knight-errancy. 

S.  M   ZWEMER,  F.R.G.S.,  and  Others 

Islam  and  Missions 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

This  volume  presents  the  papers  read  at  the_  Second 
Conference  on  Missions  to  Moslems,  recently  held  in  Luck- 
now,  India.  The  contributors  are  all  experts  of  large  ex- 
perience in   such  mission  effort. 

VAN  SOMMER,  ANNIE,  and  Others 

Daylight  in  the  Harem 

A  New  Era  for  Moslem  Women.    In  Press. 

Woman's  work  for  Woman  is  nowhere  more  needed  than 
on  the  part  of  Christian  women  for  their  sisters  of  Islam. 
!t  is  a  most  difficult  field  of  service,  but  this  volume  by  au- 
hors  long  and  practically  interested  in  this  important  Chris- 
tian ministry,  denonstrates  how  effectually  this  work  has 
opened  and  is  being  carried   forward  with  promising  results. 

ROBERTA.  HUME,  P.P. 

An  Interpretation  of  India's  Religious 

"Hi  cft/^f-ir     Intrcduction  bv  President  King,  LL^D. 
History  ofOberlin  College 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 
The  author  of  this  careful,  though^  popular,  study,  is 
eminently  qualified  to  deal  with  the  subject  of  his  thought- 
ful volume.  Equipped  for  this  purpose  through  .long  resi- 
dence in  India  and  intimate  study  of  India's  religious  his- 
tory, what  he  says  will  be  accepted  as  the  estimate  and  in- 
terpretation of  an  authority. 

MARGARET  E.  BURTON 

The  Education  of  Women  in  China 

"illustrated,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

The  author  of  this  scholarly  study  of  the  Chinese  woman 
and  education  is  the  daughter  of  Prof.   Ernest  E-   Burton,  of 

the   ^■'niversitv  of   Chicago The   work  is  probably   the 

most  thorough  study  of  an  im.portant  phase  of  the  economic 
development  of  the  world's  most  populous  country  that  ha$ 
appeared. 


FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


JAMES  F.  LOVE,  P.P. 

The  Unique  Message  and  Universal 
Mission  of  Chri^ianity 

12m o,  cloth,  net  $1.25, 

So  condensed,  fresh  and  vigorous  is  his  style  that  he  at- 
tracts and  holds  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  reader  and 
renders  attractive  and  almost  fascinating  the  discussion  of 
subjects  which  are  sometimes  supposed  to  be  dull  and  heavy." 

— Biblical  Recorder. 

EMILY  T.    SHEETS 

In  Kali's  Country:  Tales  from  Sunny  India 

Illustrated,  i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 

"An  entertaining  little  book  of  stories  from  India,  told 
by  the  wife  of  an  American  missionary." — The  Standard. 


HOME  MISSIONS 


HOME  MISSION  STUPY  COURSE 

Conservation  of  National  Ideals 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  50c. ;  i2m,o,  paper,  net  30c. 

A     series     of     most     important     themes     by     well-k 
writers,   specialists  fully   qualified   for  such   work. 

KATHERINE  R.  CROWELL 


"Best  Things  in  America** 

The  Home  Mission  Junior  Text  Book  for  1911-12. 
i6mo,  cloth,  net  40c. ;  paper,  net  25c. 

"The    author   has    vivacity    of   style,    close   sympathy    and 
high  ideals  of  service." — Over  Sea  and  Land,  Philadelphia. 

JOSEPH  ERNEST  McAFEE 

World  Missions  from  the  Home  Base 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 
The  added  emphasis  being  given  to  the  missionary  work 
ot  the  American  Church  in  foreign  field  is  apt  to  cause 
neglect  of  the  enormous  needs  for  purely  missionary  effort 
throughout  our  own  great  land.  This  work  is  exceedingly 
well  presented  in  this  practical  little  volume. 

JAMES  E.  McCULLOCH 


Author  of  "The  Open  Church  for  the  UncJvurched." 

A  Narrative 
Settlement  Life. 


The  Mastery  of  Love  ^f  a  Narrative 


i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

"The  hardship,  the  humor,  the  joy,  the  despair  of  city 
mission  work  are  all  reflected  in  this  chronicle  of  haps  and 
mishaps,  ups  and  downs — a  chronicle  so  well  told  that  the 
reader  will  be  tempted  to  believe  it  fiction  instead  of  the 
actual  record  that  it  is." — Chris.  Workers  Magazine. 


Date  Due 

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PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

